ISRO completes Crew Module and Service Module separation tests for Gaganyaan at Thiruvananthapuram
20 October 2026
ISRO completed the Crew Module and Service Module separation tests for the Gaganyaan missions at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
A test setup simulated the overall assembly of the two modules with extensive instrumentation.
The tests simulated the severing of several umbilical connections, with a separation sequence of timed events using pyrotechnic devices and jettisoning systems.
The tests validated the avionics systems, the Inertial Navigation Systems, the Thermal Protection System covering the aft and conical heat shields, and the Crew Module Deployable Umbilical Shield.
They also validated the pyrotechnic devices of the Crew Module Uprighting System and of the Thermal and Humidity Control System.
The tests confirmed the design of the separation system and the shock survivability of these subsystems, and support the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission.
In plain words
VSSC Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre — The ISRO centre at Thiruvananthapuram that leads launch vehicle development.
Umbilical Umbilical connection — A cable or line carrying power, data or fluids between two parts of a spacecraft until separation.