Human Space Flight Programme: ISRO's biggest project in pre-project stage

Though India's ambitious Human Space Flight Programme is to be launched only by the end of this decade, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the agencies involved in the programme have already realised few critical technologies which will be part of the mission.

Isro and other agencies have embarked on pre project activities with a focus on the development of critical technologies for subsystems such as Crew Module, Environmental control and Life Support System, Crew Escape System, and performance demonstration of major systems through Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) and crew escape system through Pad Abort Test (PAT).

Isro in its annual report (2013-14) released on Wednesday stated that the preliminary design reviews for most of the systems pertaining to CARE and PAT have been completed.

"Configuration, layout, and structural analysis of Crew Module for CARE mission have been completed. Design of re-entry trajectory for CARE mission corresponding to launch vehicle ascent trajectory has been carried out. Crew Module structure is in advance stage of realisation for flight test in GSLV-MkIII Experimental Mission," the report stated.
The GSLV-Mk III experimental flight is expected to be carried out in the next couple of months.

That apart several critical technologies related to the crew escape system has been developed and tested this includes the Head-end Mounted Safe Arm for solid motors,
and the wind tunnel testing of scale model of crew escape system at Bangalore.

The Human Space Flight Programme envisages the development of a fully autonomous orbital vehicle carrying 2 or 3 crew members to about 300 km low earth orbit and their safe return.

The programme is planned to end in the high seas. As per plan the crew module (with the crew members) would parachute down to a predetermined location in the seas off India's coast and the crew members retrieved by an Indian Navy ship.

"A parachute ejection test with Mortar was carried out at Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh wherein sequential deployment of pilot parachute and drogue parachute was demonstrated. As part of deceleration system qualification, main and drogue parachutes, in modified and improved pack cover configuration, was drop tested at ADRDE, Agra. Parachute Reefing Line Cutter of main parachute was realised and development tests were also carried out," the report added.

The Human Space Flight Programme is Rs 12,500 crore mission and so far the government has released Rs 149 crore for it.