The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has already started planning to commence uncrewed flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission.

It  has started to make preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1).

“Mission Gaganyaan: ISRO to commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission. Preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), which demonstrates the performance of the Crew Escape System, are under way,” the space agency posted on X (formerly Twitter).

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1710506719124570606?t=1Rdpml09z6h54_04-ctsGw&s=19

Though the space agency has not announced the date for the TV-D1, it is expected to take place by the end of October 2023 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (SDSC-SHAR).

According to ISRO, the Crew Module (CM) is where the astronauts are contained in a pressurised earthlike atmospheric condition during the Gaganyaan mission.

“The CM for the Gaganyaan mission is in different stages of development. For the TV-D1, the CM is an unpressurised version that has completed its integration and testing and is ready to be shipped to the launch complex. This unpressurised CM version has to have an overall size and mass of actual Gaganyaan CM. It houses all the systems for the deceleration and recovery. With its complete set of parachutes, recovery aids, actuation systems and pyros. The avionics systems in CM are in a dual redundant mode configuration for navigation, sequencing, telemetry, instrumentation and power. The CM in this mission is extensively instrumented to capture the flight data for evaluation of the performance of various systems. The CM will be recovered after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal, using a dedicated vessel and diving team from the Indian Navy,” ISRO said. It added that the TV-D1 is in the final stages of preparation.

The Gaganyaan mission aims to demonstrate the capability to launch human beings (three crew members) to low earth orbit and bring them back safely to earth by landing them in either the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea.

For the Gaganyaan mission, four astronauts who have been selected are undergoing crew training and Gaganyaan Mission-specific training at the Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru.