Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: ISRO

Following a hold at 5-seconds before liftoff, India’s TV D1 test flight was accomplished.

Image credit: ISRO

Thanks to a quick rocket check and turnaround, the vehicle did launch at 10 am (India Time), demonstrating the crew escape system as intended.

“Mission Gaganyaan gets off on a successful note,” reported the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Project Gaganyaan is India’s effort to become a member of the elite cadre of countries capable of independent human spaceflight.

For the Test Vehicle Abort mission-1, an unpressurized, uncrewed module (CM) was used, lobbed skyward by a single-stage liquid rocket developed for this abort mission. The flight involved an escape tower outfitted with fast-acting solid motors.

“This Test Vehicle mission with this CM is a significant milestone for the overall Gaganyaan program as a near-complete system is integrated for a flight test,” explains ISRO. The success of this test flight has now set the stage for the remaining qualification tests and unmanned missions, leading to the first Gaganyaan mission with Indian astronauts.

Image credit: ISRO

Splashdown of uncrewed module in the Bay of Bengal. Image credit: ISRO/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Image credit: ISRO

India is pressing forward on its goal of attaining an indepenent human spaceflight capability.
Image credit: ISRO/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Go to pre-launch, hold video and informative overview of the flight at: