The ISRO Gaganyaan mission has marked a significant achievement as the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully completes the development of the Service Module Propulsion System (SMPS). This system is critical for the ISRO Gaganyaan human spaceflight program, enabling stable orbit insertion, precise attitude control, and mission abort capabilities when necessary.
In a major step for the ISRO Gaganyaan mission, ISRO conducted a full-duration hot test of the SMPS for 350 seconds, ensuring that the system functions under mission-like conditions. The test results aligned perfectly with pre-test predictions, proving the system’s reliability and readiness for the ISRO Gaganyaan human spaceflight.
The ISRO Gaganyaan mission’s Service Module Propulsion System plays a crucial role in maintaining the spacecraft’s orbit, controlling its orientation, and executing deboost maneuvers for re-entry. It utilizes a regulated bipropellant system, ensuring the propulsion needs of the orbital module are met efficiently during the ISRO Gaganyaan mission phases.
At the heart of the ISRO Gaganyaan SMPS are the Liquid Apogee Motors (LAM) and Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters. These engines will help in orbit circularization and deboost operations, while the RCS thrusters ensure fine attitude control to keep the ISRO Gaganyaan spacecraft aligned accurately during its journey.
To validate its human-rating capability, the ISRO Gaganyaan team developed a System Demonstration Model (SDM) test bed simulating the SMPS fluid circuits, including the propellant feed system, helium pressurization, and control components. Using this setup, ISRO has completed 25 tests totaling 14,331 seconds under different mission scenarios to ensure the ISRO Gaganyaan propulsion system’s reliability.
The ISRO Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System has been designed and developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) with testing at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. This achievement highlights India’s growing technological capability and commitment toward the ISRO Gaganyaan mission, which aims to place Indian astronauts in space safely and efficiently.
As the ISRO Gaganyaan mission moves closer to its planned launch, the successful development and testing of the SMPS bring India one step closer to achieving its goal of human spaceflight, underlining ISRO’s commitment to self-reliance in space technology.