ISRO on Friday received congratulations on its second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02), which is an important achievement in the ambitious Indian spacecraft Gaganyaan mission. The success is a major milestone towards the first human spaceflight in the country that is expected to be launched next year.
In a post on X, Singh commended the work of ISRO, claiming that the successful test was a significant milestone towards mission preparedness. The IADT-02 took place at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Andhra Pradesh, and aimed at the testing of several systems that were necessary in the safe re-entry of astronauts back to the earth.
The test was preceded by the previous IADT-01 that was on August 24, 2025, and had shown the general functionality of the parachute-based deceleration system to be used in the Crew Module. The success of the first test was extended to the second test, which further confirmed the deployment sequence and reliability of the system in the real conditions.
The Gaganyaan mission, according to ISRO, is an attempt to demonstrate that India too has the capability, domestically, to launch three-member crew into a low-Earth orbit of approximately 400 km, and safely land them in just three days. The human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle will be used to launch the mission.
One of the most important parts of the mission is the parachute-based deceleration system, which will provide a controlled landing of the Crew Module at the last stage. The system has apex cover separation parachutes, drogue parachutes, pilot parachutes and main parachutes whose sole purpose is to deploy in a very specific order to slow down velocity and allow a safe splashdown into the sea.