India tests Gaganyaan parachutes again

Artist rendering of India’s Gaganyaan capsule
India’s space agency ISRO on November 3, 2025 successfully completed another drop test of the parachutes it will use on its Gaganyaan manned orbital capsule, this time testing the chutes in extreme conditions.
Explaining the November 3 test, the Isro statement said the GCM parachute system comprises 10 parachutes of four types. “The descent sequence begins with two apex cover separation parachutes that remove the protective cover of the parachute compartment, followed by two drogue parachutes that stabilize and decelerate the module. Upon release of the drogues, three pilot parachutes are deployed to extract three main parachutes, which further slow down the Crew Module to ensure a safe touchdown,” said Isro. “The system is designed with redundancy—two of the three main parachutes are sufficient to achieve a safe landing.”
Using a pyro device, the main parachutes open partially, a process known as reefing, and then open fully after a predetermined period of time, referred to as disreefing. This step-by-step process is known as reefed inflation. An important aspect of the test was the successful validation of the main parachutes under possible extreme scenarios of delay in the disreefing between the two main parachutes.
The August drop tests were from a helicopter at about 3 kilometers. The November drop tests took place from an airplane at about 2.5 kilometers.
The agency has indicated the first unmanned orbital test flight of Gaganyaan has been delayed from this year to early next, possibly as early as January. It plans to do at least three unmanned flights in 2026 before putting humans on board in early 2027.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

Artist rendering of India’s Gaganyaan capsule
India’s space agency ISRO on November 3, 2025 successfully completed another drop test of the parachutes it will use on its Gaganyaan manned orbital capsule, this time testing the chutes in extreme conditions.
Explaining the November 3 test, the Isro statement said the GCM parachute system comprises 10 parachutes of four types. “The descent sequence begins with two apex cover separation parachutes that remove the protective cover of the parachute compartment, followed by two drogue parachutes that stabilize and decelerate the module. Upon release of the drogues, three pilot parachutes are deployed to extract three main parachutes, which further slow down the Crew Module to ensure a safe touchdown,” said Isro. “The system is designed with redundancy—two of the three main parachutes are sufficient to achieve a safe landing.”
Using a pyro device, the main parachutes open partially, a process known as reefing, and then open fully after a predetermined period of time, referred to as disreefing. This step-by-step process is known as reefed inflation. An important aspect of the test was the successful validation of the main parachutes under possible extreme scenarios of delay in the disreefing between the two main parachutes.
The August drop tests were from a helicopter at about 3 kilometers. The November drop tests took place from an airplane at about 2.5 kilometers.
The agency has indicated the first unmanned orbital test flight of Gaganyaan has been delayed from this year to early next, possibly as early as January. It plans to do at least three unmanned flights in 2026 before putting humans on board in early 2027.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

