Isro, DRDO and armed forces jointly clear key Gaganyaan safety test

Isro, DRDO, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army jointly conducted the fifth Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT-05) for the Gaganyaan crew module on 7 July, at the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment drop zone in Sheopur, Isro said.

The test dropped a simulated single main parachute and dummy payload from an altitude of 2.5 km using an Indian Air Force IL-76 aircraft. After an extractor and drogue parachute deployed to stabilise the payload, the main parachute opened and safely slowed the descent to terminal speed, validating the parachute’s structural integrity under the most demanding load conditions expected during the G1 mission, the first uncrewed flight under the Gaganyaan programme.

The crew module’s full deceleration system uses 10 parachutes across four types: two apex cover separation parachutes, two drogue parachutes, three pilot parachutes and three main parachutes. The successful qualification of the main parachute system adds confidence ahead of the G1 mission, which precedes India’s attempt to send astronauts into orbit.

Isro has publicly detailed the objectives of the first, third and fifth IMAT tests, but has not issued standalone notes on IMAT-02 or IMAT-04.