Context: Gaganyaan airdrop test
ISRO successfully conducted the second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) at Sriharikota to test the safe landing system of the crew module for the Gaganyaan mission.
Gaganyaan Mission
• India’s first human spaceflight mission
• Aim: Send astronauts to Low Earth Orbit and bring them back safely
• Focus is not just launch, but safe re-entry and recovery (splashdown in sea)
• Human mission expected after multiple test missions
What exactly was done in this test
• A crew module (astronaut capsule) was lifted to about 3 km height using an IAF helicopter
• It was then dropped over the sea near Sriharikota
• During descent, parachutes (10) opened in sequence to slow it down
• Finally, the module made a safe splashdown (landing in sea)
• It was then recovered by the Indian Navy
