New Delhi, April 10 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission at the space station in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
This system is crucial to ensure the safe recovery of the crew module – the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight – during re-entry and landing.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for successfully conducting the test.
"Congratulations #ISRO for the successful completion of the Second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) for #Gaganyaan, India's first Human Space flight, scheduled for next year. The second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) was successfully conducted at the Satish Dhawan Space Station in Sriharikota," Singh said in a post on X.
IADT-02 follows the successful completion of the first IADT, which took place on August 24, 2025, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Air drop tests simulate the final stage of a spacecraft's return to Earth. An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different scenarios.
These tests include deploying the parachute system in case the mission is aborted mid-flight, assessing system performance when one parachute fails to open, and ensuring the spacecraft's orientation and safety during splashdown, etc.
In the first IADT, a 4.8-tonne dummy crew module was dropped from a height of three km by a Chinook helicopter.
After the module's release, a parachute system, consisting of 10 parachutes, was deployed, helping the capsule decelerate to a safe splashdown speed.