ISRO Achieves Milestone with Second Air Drop Test for Gaganyaan Mission

Successful Test Marks Progress for Gaganyaan

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully executed the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for its Gaganyaan mission at the Sriharikota space station in Andhra Pradesh.

This test is crucial for ensuring the safe recovery of the crew module, which houses astronauts during their journey.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh praised ISRO for this achievement, stating, "Congratulations #ISRO for the successful accomplishment of Second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) for #Gaganyaan, India’s first Human Space flight scheduled next year. The test was successfully conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Station Sriharikota," in a post on X.

The IADT-02 follows the first air drop test, which was completed on August 24, 2025, at the same facility.

These air drop tests simulate the final phase of a spacecraft's return to Earth, where an aircraft or helicopter releases the spacecraft from a height to evaluate various systems under different conditions.

Key aspects tested include the parachute deployment in case of a mid-flight mission abort, the performance of the system if one parachute fails to deploy, and the spacecraft's safety and orientation during splashdown.

During the initial IADT, a dummy crew module weighing 4.8 tonnes was dropped from a height of three kilometers by a Chinook helicopter.

Upon release, a parachute system consisting of ten parachutes was activated, allowing the capsule to decelerate to a safe speed for splashdown.