Gagnayaan: Isro clears another parachute milestone; IMAT-5 Done, but details on 4th test elusive | India News

BENGALURU: Isro has completed the fifth Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT-05), clearing another milestone towards the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission by qualifying the crew module’s main parachute system to withstand the maximum expected loads during descent.“The test, conducted on July 7 at the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) drop zone in Sheopur saw a simulated single main parachute and dummy payload dropped from an altitude of 2.5 km using an Indian Air Force IL-76 aircraft. After deployment of an extractor and drogue parachute to stabilise the payload, the main parachute opened and safely slowed the descent to its terminal speed,” Isro said.According to Isro, the objective was to validate the structural integrity and design margins of the main parachute under the most demanding load conditions expected during the G1 mission, the first uncrewed flight under the Gaganyaan programme.The crew module’s deceleration system comprises 10 parachutes of four different types. Two apex cover separation parachutes first jettison the protective cover, followed by two drogue parachutes that stabilise and slow the module. Three pilot parachutes then extract the three main parachutes, which reduce the module’s speed for a safe splashdown.While Wednesday’s announcement described the exercise as the fifth IMAT, Isro did not disclose when IMAT-04 was conducted or what it demonstrated. The last public confirmation of an IMAT before this came on Nov 11, 2025, when the space agency announced the completion of IMAT-03, based on a trial carried out on Nov 3, 2025.IMATs are among the qualification tests for Gaganyaan’s parachute deceleration system, which slows the crew module to a safe landing speed during its final descent. The series began on Nov 18, 2022, with IMAT-01, which simulated the failure of one of the main parachutes to validate the system’s redundancy and disreefing sequence by dropping a five-tonne crew module mock-up from an IL-76 aircraft at an altitude of 2.5 km.IMAT-03 later evaluated another off-nominal scenario by introducing a delay in the disreefing between the two main parachutes to assess load distribution and structural stability. With IMAT-05 now complete, Isro has publicly detailed the objectives of the first, third and fifth tests, but has not issued standalone public notes on IMAT-04 and IMAT-02.The latest test was carried out jointly by Isro, DRDO, IAF and the Indian Army. The successful qualification of the main parachute system provides additional confidence ahead of the G1 mission, which will be the first uncrewed demonstration flight before India attempts to send astronauts into orbit under Gaganyaan.