The Indian Space Research Organisation has inched a step closer to putting humans in space. The successful qualification testing of cryogenic engine CE-20 has brought it closer to induction into Gaganyaan.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=TIMESNOW&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1481257593310183427&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesnownews.com%2Findia%2Farticle%2Fgaganyaan-s-cryogenic-engine-isro-moves-a-step-closer-to-putting-indians-in-space%2F849041&sessionId=cebf05c94cbfe9238a542c24a19c92ca2f57c2d2&siteScreenName=TIMESNOW&theme=light&widgetsVersion=86e9194f%3A1641882287124&width=550px
The CE-20 was tested for 720 seconds at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu. As per a statement by the Indian space agency, “The performance of the engine met the test objectives and the engine parameters were closely matching with predictions during the entire duration of the test.”
This is a major milestone and a landmark moment for the Indian space programme as it prepares for its maiden human spaceflight. This year’s programme will be an uncrewed mission and the first orbital test flight of the capsule, while the one being planned for 2023 will be a crewed one. The crewed orbital spacecraft — Gaganyaan — aims at carrying three people. In fact, the space agency is taking no chances when it comes to human safety. It plans to first send two uncrewed space flights before launching the first crewed mission. While the first uncrewed mission will be in June this year, the second one will take place towards the end of this year.
According to a Times of India report quoting the outgoing ISRO chairman K Sivan, while the space agency has developed several critical technologies in the past with good success, none of them involved humans. “Humans bring with them a set of challenges the most prominent of which is their safety. Therefore, from developing systems for optimum performance, we are now building things that are reliable,” he reportedly said.
CE-20 is to undergo four more tests for a cumulative duration of 1,810 seconds. And it is not the only one. “Subsequently, one more engine will undergo two short-duration tests and one long-duration test to complete the cryogenic engine qualification for Gaganyaan programme,” ISRO has said.
ISRO’s Gaganyaan programme is India’s maiden human spaceflight mission and will make India the fourth country to send humans to space after Russia, the US and China. The Gaganyaan programme’s mission is to demonstrate the capability to send humans to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is the closest point in space where humans can travel.
ISRO isn’t afraid to dream big. Once the Gaganyaan mission was conceived, the space agency sent the would-be space travellers to Russia. They spent about a year there and familiarised themselves with old Soyuz capsules as the simulated spaceflight conditions in centrifuges and pressure chambers. They returned to India last year and have begun training on the Gaganyaan capsule itself.
Again, taking no chances with human safety and well-being, ISRO banked on its French counterpart. In April last year, the Indian space agency unveiled the agreement with CNES — Centre national d’études spatiales, or France’s National Centre for Space Studies. The two countries have a long history of space cooperation. The French have the advantage of ample knowledge when it comes to space medicine that is has brought to International Space Station in the past. CNES has agreed to share the same with ISRO to ensure that the Indian space travellers are in good health
Not limited to France, ISRO is also hoping that such international partnerships will help it build up the technology needed to send humans to space for the long term. It has already unveiled Indian space food and a humanoid robot for uncrewed flights later this year. Besides this, the space agency has also tested other key aspects of Gaganyaan like its launch abort and re-entry systems.
India’s human spaceflight plans are coming together and closer to being realised despite delays because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be one small step that an Indian will take in space and a giant leap for India’s space mission.
