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The tests conducted on Thursday and Friday used drogue parachutes on a sled moving at speeds of 600 km per hour on a rail track.
Getting another step closer to the first human spaceflight mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) conducted another set of tests to check one of the parachute systems that will bring the astronauts safely back to earth. At present, the space agency is conducting a series of on-ground and in-air tests to ensure the safety and dependability of its 10-parachute system.
During two exercises conducted on December 18 and 19, the space agency tested the ability of the drogue parachutes to work in extreme conditions. The test saw successful “reefed opening” of the parachutes, according to the agency.
Meanwhile, the space agency is preparing for its next record-breaking launch — the heaviest satellite to lift off Indian soil. ISRO’s biggest vehicle, LVM-03, will carry a US satellite weighing nearly 6,100 kgs to the low earth orbit (LEO) on December 24.
The BlueBird block-2 satellite is a part of a global LEO constellation, being developed by the US company AST & Science, to provide satellite-based broadband directly to cell phones. This constellation will enable 4G and 5G voice and video calls, texts, streaming, and data for “everyone, everywhere, at all times,” the space agency said.
The heaviest payload carried by the vehicle — and thereby India — was a set of 36 OneWeb satellites weighing 5,800 kg.
The December 24 launch also comes less than two months after the space agency launched its heaviest 4,400kg satellite into a distant geosynchronous orbit — orbits nearly 35,000 km away from earth as compared to around 400 kms for low earth orbit.
This will also be the third dedicated commercial mission for the LVM-3 vehicle, after the two OneWeb missions that saw the vehicle being used for the first time to send satellites to the LEO instead of GEO (Geostationary Orbit).
Parachute tests
The tests conducted on Thursday and Friday used drogue parachutes on a sled moving at speeds of 600 km per hour on a rail track.
The drogue parachutes are the second of the four types of parachutes used in the system. Deployed at greater heights, the two drogue parachutes are responsible for stabilising the crew module and slowing it down enough before the main parachutes are deployed.
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To avoid sudden jerks as the parachutes deploy on the astronauts’ journey back to the earth, the parachutes open slowly in a step by step process known as reefed inflation. Reefing essentially limits how much the parachute can open, following which disreefing using pyro devices at a scheduled time allows the parachute to open up completely.
The recent experiments were conducted at the Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility of the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Chandigarh.
The Gaganyaan crew module will be equipped with four different types of parachutes. First to be deployed will be two 2.5 metre Apex Cover Separation Parachutes, which are meant to pry open and remove the apex cover — a cover for the compartment that protects the other parachutes from the heat of re-entry — away from the descending vehicle. Then, the two 5.8 metre drogue parachutes are deployed. Once these parachutes complete the first stage of deceleration, three 3.4 metre pilot chutes take over. Each of them separately extract and deploy the three 25 metre main parachutes, which slows the crew module down enough for a soft splashdown. The space agency tested the entire parachute system under normal conditions in August this year.
Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More
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