India's manned space mission has made significant progress, that is, the fairing of the manned rocket has been delivered, which means that the manned launch has entered the final preparation stage.
According to public information, the Indian manned spacecraft "Jagangyang" is about 7 meters tall. It uses a two-cabin structure, consisting of a return capsule and a service cabin. The total weight reaches 8.2 tons, which is heavier than my country's Shenzhou spacecraft. a little.
Currently, the only one that India can launch the "Gaganyan" spacecraft is the GSLV mark3 rocket, which is 43.43 meters high and 4 meters in diameter. The rocket's low-Earth orbit carrying capacity is about 10 tons, which is similar to the capacity of my country's manned rocket Long March 2F, but its weight reaches 640 tons, 140 tons more than the Long March 2F.
GSLV mark3 rocket fairing delivery means that the repeatedly postponed manned space project has finally made progress. Prior to this, India had actually completed the test of the spacecraft's return capsule splashing down at sea. Currently, it only needs to conduct two unmanned tests. After success, it can conduct manned tests.
Of course, India's first manned plan has been postponed to 2024, and if the first unmanned test goes well, it will be conducted by the end of this year. If it doesn't go well, then...it's normal. Postponement is common anyway, so it would be strange not to postpone it.
The fairing is an important part of the rocket launch. It is mainly used to protect the launch load and avoid the influence of aerodynamics, aerodynamic heating and acoustic vibration during the launch process. Currently, it is installed on almost every rocket launcher in the world. fairing.
Whether it is Russia's Soyuz or my country's Shenzhou, the manned spacecraft is placed inside the fairing. The only exception is the Dragon spacecraft of Spacex company , which did not have a fairing when it was launched. Of course, Blue Origin 's "New Shepard" spacecraft was launched without a fairing, but it did not enter orbit.
Dragon spacecraft
The reason why the Dragon spacecraft does not require a fairing is mainly due to the application of new technologies and new materials. The Dragon spacecraft not only has a very good aerodynamic profile and a very strict heat protection design, but also integrates the escape system into the return capsule, so it can be launched directly "streaking" without a fairing.
Although the Indian spacecraft adopts the same two-cabin structure as the Dragon spacecraft, there is an obvious technical gap between the two. The launch process of the "Gaganyan" spacecraft still requires fairing protection.
Of course, this is not the most important thing for India. What is important is to solve the problem first and become the fourth country in the world that can independently send people into space. After all, this is India’s biggest aerospace dream. .
