New Delhi, February 19 India's human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan, has achieved a key milestone with the DRDO conducting a test that proved India's expertise in designing and manufacturing high-strength ribbon parachutes, the defense ministry said on Thursday.
The test was conducted on February 18 at the Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Chandigarh, the ministry said in a statement.
"India's human spaceflight program has achieved a key milestone with the successful qualification level load test of the drogue parachute for the Gaganyaan program," it said.
The test proved India's expertise in designing and manufacturing high-strength ribbon parachutes, the ministry said.
The test was conducted in collaboration with the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO, Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment, DRDO, alongside various teams of the TBRL.
The RTRS is a specialized dynamic test facility extensively used for high-speed aerodynamic and ballistic evaluations.
"The RTRS dynamic test, simulating qualification level loads which are higher than the maximum flight loads, shows the additional design safety margin of the parachute," the statement said.
This achievement highlights TBRL's immense contributions in providing advanced test facilities, instrumentation, and technical expertise for space and defense programs, it said.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has complimented the DRDO, ISRO, and the industry on the successful qualification test of the Gaganyaan drogue parachute.
The test is "another big step" in furthering the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, he said.
Samir V Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence R and D, and Chairman, DRDO, also congratulated the teams associated with the test.