ISRO Successfully Conducts First Hot Test Of System Demonstration Model Of Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday (28 August) successfully conducted the first hot test of the System Demonstration Model (SDM) of the Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System for a duration of 450 second at the test facility of ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, the space agency said in a statement.

According to the ISRO's statement, the system performance met the test objectives and there was a close match with the pre-test predictions.

Further, a series of hot tests are planned to simulate various mission conditions as well as off-nominal conditions, the space agency said.

The Service Module is part of the Gaganyaan Orbital module and is located below the crew module and remains connected to it until re-entry.

The Service Module (SM) Propulsion System consists of a unified bipropellant system consisting of five 440 Newton (N) thrust engines and sixteen 100 N Reaction Control system (RCS) thrusters with MON-3 and MMH as Oxidizer and Fuel respectively.

The System Demonstration Model (SDM), consisting of five 440 N engines and eight 100 N thrusters, was realized to qualify the propulsion system performance in ground.

ISRO added that it has established a new test facility at IPRC, Mahendragiri for testing the SDM.