ISRO has successfully conducted two more tests on the propulsion system for the Gaganyaan mission. The "hot tests" on Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System (SMPS) were conducted at the ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
“These tests marked the second and third hot tests in the Service Module – System Demonstration model (SM-SDM) phase 2 test series,” ISRO said in a statement.
The Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of three members to an orbit of 400km for a three days mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters, according to ISRO. "These tests will further validate and refine the performance of the propulsion system, ensuring its readiness for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission," it said.
“The first hot test was conducted on July 19, 2023. During the tests, the thrusters were operated in both continuous and pulse mode, in sync with the mission profile. The initial hot test which lasted for 723.6 s focussed on demonstrating Orbital Module injection and the calibration burn of 100 N thrusters and Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) engines. The calibration burn was essential to identify and isolate any non-operational engines,” it said. ISRO said that the LAM engines and reaction control system (RCS) Thrusters performed as expected.
The space agency said three more hot tests are scheduled, to demonstrate de-boosting requirements and off-nominal mission scenarios. It added, “The latter hot test, with a duration of 350 s, aimed to demonstrate the circularization of the Orbital Module to achieve the final orbit. During this test, the LAM engines operated in continuous mode, while the RCS Thrusters fired in pulse mode.”
The SMPS was designed and developed by the Liquid Propulsion System Centre located at Bengaluru and Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram. ISRO said that three more hot tests are scheduled to demonstrate de-boosting requirements and off-nominal mission scenarios. “These tests will further validate and refine the performance of the propulsion system, ensuring its readiness for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission,” it said in a statement.
(With PTI inputs.)
