Parachutes for uncrewed spaceflight of Gaganyaan mission flagged off
A set of parachutes developed for the first uncrewed mission of India's Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme was shipped from Agra on Monday (May 5, 2025). The parachutes were developed by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), an Agra-based laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
'Indigenously developed parachutes for the safe return of the capsule that will carry astronauts under the proposed Gaganyaan Programme are set to undergo [testing in an] unmanned mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),' ADRDE stated. According to the statement, the parachute configuration consists of 10 parachutes designed for sequential deployment.
Under the Gaganyaan programme, ISRO aims to send a crew of two or three astronauts into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Explaining the recovery sequence during flight, the ADRDE statement detailed that it begins with the deployment of two Apex Cover Separation parachutes (which protect the main parachute compartment). This is followed by two Drogue parachutes to stabilise the module and reduce its velocity. Subsequently, upon release of the drogue chutes, three Pilot parachutes are deployed to extract the three Main parachutes individually. The Main parachutes are designed to reduce the crew module's speed to safe levels for landing.
The flight unit parachutes were formally flagged off by Dr. Manoj Kumar, Director of ADRDE. They have been dispatched to the ISRO Satellite Integration and Testing Establishment (ISITE) in Bengaluru.
These parachutes are intended for the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission, designated G-1. The ADRDE team will proceed to assemble the parachutes with the crew module at ISITE in preparation for this mission, which is planned for later this year.
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