What is Gaganyaan Mission?
First Chandrayaan 3 went, then Suryayaan, now next month it is the turn of Gaganyaan. Yes, after setting foot on the lunar surface and sending Aditya L1 Mission towards the sun, now ISRO is preparing to make the first successful human space flight mission in the country. ISRO is going to prepare for the first unmanned flight of Gaganyaan mission in next October. Let us try to understand in this article, how the rocket of Gaganyaan mission will work. How will this rocket take humans to space and how will these Indian astronauts stay in space for 5 to 7 days and then how will they come back after 5 to 7 days. We will know everything in detail from beginning to end in this article.
Launch Vehicle
The heaviest rocket that ISRO has is the LVM3 rocket. Yes, this is the same rocket that took Chandrayaan 3 but this time it is being changed. It is being made capable of carrying the crew module. It will be made completely human rated. LVM3 rocket is being changed to H-LVM3. Here ‘H’ means human rated. Later this rocket will be named HRLV i.e. Human Rated Launch Vehicle.
Components of Spacecraft
Let us first understand all the parts of this rocket and their work. This rocket will have mainly five parts.
- Crew Escape System (CES),
- Orbit Module (Inside),
- Cryogenic Stage (C25-G),
- Liquid Stage (L110-G), and
- Solid Propulsion (HS200)
Let us now understand all these parts in detail.
- Crew Escape System (CES): It is the first and very important part of the rocket of Gaganyaan Mission. Its job is to save the Indian astronauts if there is any accident during launch. If an accident occurs during rocket launch or a fire breaks out due to the rocket explosion, then it separates the astronauts and takes them away from that place. If everything goes well in the latch, then this latch escape system is not required further and it is thrown with the ejector.
- Orbital module (Inside): This is the second and very important main part of the rocket of Gaganyaan mission This will be the same part where the three Indian astronauts will sit during the launch. Orbital module has mainly two parts Crew module and service module. First crew module. The crew module is the part where the Indian astronauts will sit in this craft. It has been planned to send three Indian astronauts including a woman. This is the part that will return to Earth. The weight of the crew module is 3725 kg and it will have seating for three Indian astronauts and their food and safety material will be kept in it. Its weight will be 5300 kg. Second service module. This is the part of the spacecraft where the fuel will be kept to run the crew module. It will take all the three astronauts around in space. It has two solar panels and three engines. It will separate from the crew module while returning to Earth. The weight of the service module will be around 2900 kg and in this way the total weight of the Gaganyaan spacecraft will be around 8200 kg.
- Cryogenic Stage (C25-G): It is the third part of the rocket of Gaganyaan mission. This engine will start about 300 seconds after the rocket launch and after reaching at a height of 62 km from the earth, the Cryogenic Stage C25-G will be used to reach the lower orbit of the earth.
- Liquid Stage (L110-G): This is the fourth part of the rocket of Gaganyaan mission. This engine will start about 110 seconds after the rocket launch. After a height of 17 km from the earth it will take it to a height of 62 km till the Cryogenic Stage starts
- Solid Propulsion (HS200): This is the fifth and last part of the rocket of Gaganyaan mission. These are also called two booster rockets of the spacecraft. These rockets will start at the time of launch and will separate from the rocket after taking it to a height of 17 kilometers.
How It Will Be Launched?
After understanding Gaganyaan rocket properly, let us now tell you how it will be launched and how it will take three Indian astronauts to space. First of all, on the day of launch, Gaganyaan rocket H-LVM3 or HRLV rocket will start. At the time of launch, both the booster rockets of the spacecraft, i.e., the HS200 and Bahubali rocket will start on a journey to create history by tearing through the clouds. The liquid engine will start 110 seconds after the rocket launch, and the speed of the rocket will reach 6437 kilometers per hour. After 127 seconds, i.e., on reaching a height of 62 kilometers in the sky, both the boosters HS200 will separate from the Gaganyaan spacecraft. After the booster rocket separates, the speed of the Gaganyaan rocket will reach 7000 kilometers per hour. The height is about 114.3 kilometers, and after 307 seconds, the liquid engine will separate from the rocket. After the liquid engine separates from the Gaganyaan rocket, the cryogenic engine will start and will move rapidly towards the lower orbit of the Earth (LEO), about 150 kilometers, carrying three Indian astronauts. After 350 seconds, both the heat shield and Crew Escape System (CES) will separate from the rocket. After about 16 minutes and 15 seconds, the Cryogenic engine will also separate from the rocket, and India’s Gaganyan will be placed in the lower orbit of the Earth (LEO), i.e., an orbit of 400 km. After the entire rocket separates, the speed of Gaganyan will be around 36968 km per hour, and only one part will remain: The Orbital Module. This part will take the three astronauts of India around in space for seven days and bring them back. After Gaganyan reaches space, i.e., after being placed in an orbit of 400 km, first of all the solar array of the orbital module will be deployed, i.e., both the solar panels of the orbital module will open and the engines of all the three orbital modules will start, and sitting in it, the three Indian astronauts will roam in space for the next 7 days and revolve around the Earth like the International Space Station revolves around the Earth.
How It Will Return To Earth With Astronauts?
After seven days, the day will come for the return of Indian astronauts to Earth. Let us now know how the astronauts will return to Earth. As soon as the process of return of Gaganyaan begins, the orbital module will take a 360-degree turn, which will be called re-orientation; that is, the module will change its direction and will move rapidly to come to Earth. After some time, de-boosting will happen, and the crew module and service module will separate. The service module will no longer be of any use, so it will be removed and thrown away. The crew module will rapidly move towards Earth with the Indian astronauts. After the service module separates, the crew module will take about 36 minutes to reach Earth. After the service module separates, the aerobraking phase will begin; that is, the crew module will enter the thermal orbit of the Earth, and the heat shield attached below the crew module will protect it from burning. After the thermal orbit of the Earth, on returning to the Earth’s atmosphere, both the parachutes of the crew module will be deployed; that is, both the parachutes of the crew module will open, and after a few minutes there will be a splashdown; that is, these three Indian astronauts will fall in the Arabian Sea of Gujarat. From here they will be recovered by the Indian Navy. It will be done, and with this, India will create history. After America, Russia, and China, India will become the fourth country to send humans into space.