Gaganyaan mission: Unveiling the three stages of ISRO human spaceflight endeavour

The Gaganyaan mission aims to showcase human spaceflight capabilities by launching a three-member crew into a 400 km orbit for a 3-day mission, ensuring a safe return to Earth by landing in the Indian sea waters.

Strategic Approach: The project's success is attributed to an optimal strategy, leveraging in-house expertise, Indian industry experience, the intellectual prowess of academia, and cutting-edge technologies from international agencies.

Mission Prerequisites: Critical technologies required for the Gaganyaan mission include a human-rated launch vehicle, a life support system, crew emergency escape provisions, and comprehensive crew management for training, recovery, and rehabilitation.

Human-Rated LVM3: The well-proven LVM3 rocket, a reliable heavy-lift launcher from ISRO, is selected for the Gaganyaan mission. It undergoes reconfiguration to meet human rating requirements, becoming the Human Rated LVM3 (HLVM3).

Launch Vehicle Configuration: HLVM3 is equipped with solid, liquid, and cryogenic stages. It will carry the Orbital Module to an intended Low Earth Orbit of 400 km, ensuring a safe journey for the crew

Crew Escape System (CES): HLVM3 features a Crew Escape System (CES) powered by quick-acting, high-burn-rate solid motors. This system ensures the safe evacuation of the Crew Module and crew in case of emergencies during launch or ascent.

Orbital Module (OM): The Orbital Module (OM) consists of the Crew Module (CM) and the Service Module (SM). The OM orbits Earth and is equipped with state-of-the-art avionics systems, ensuring redundancy for human safety.

Crew Module Design: The CM, the habitable space for the crew in Earth-like conditions, has a double-walled construction.

It includes a pressurised metallic inner structure, an unpressurised external structure with a Thermal Protection System (TPS), crew interfaces, life support systems, avionics, and deceleration systems.

Service Module (SM) Functions: The SM supports the CM in orbit, featuring an unpressurised structure with thermal, propulsion, power, and avionics systems, along with deployment mechanisms.