UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — How will Gaganyaan’s crew module deploy its parachutes?

Q1. In the deceleration system of the Gaganyaan Crew Module, what precisely is the function assigned to the pilot parachutes?

  • A. Three canopies deployed after the drogues are cut away, whose task is to pull out the large final-descent canopies from the compartment
  • B. Two canopies fired from pyro mortars that stabilise the oscillating module and take the first bite out of its descent speed
  • C. Two canopies that pull away the protective lid of the compartment so that the later stages of the sequence can begin
  • D. Three canopies of about 25 m diameter that reef and then disreef to bring the module down to splashdown speed

Q2. The deceleration system for recovery of the Gaganyaan re-entry crew module is being developed under a memorandum of understanding between which one of the following pairs of laboratories/centres?

  • A. Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh and U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru
  • B. Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment, Agra and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram
  • C. Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory, Bengaluru and Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Valiamala
  • D. Armament Research and Development Establishment, Pune and Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad

Q3. With reference to the cluster of main parachutes qualified for the Gaganyaan Crew Module, which one of the following statements is correct?

  • A. All three main parachutes must open fully, since the design provides no margin for any one of them failing to inflate
  • B. Two of the three main parachutes are sufficient to achieve a safe landing of the Crew Module
  • C. Only one main parachute is carried, the other two canopies in the cluster being drogues held entirely in reserve
  • D. Each of the three main parachutes is independently capable of landing the Crew Module safely by itself

Q4. During descent, in how many stages does each main parachute of the Gaganyaan Crew Module attain its full canopy area?

  • A. One — the canopy attains its full area immediately on extraction, with no intermediate condition
  • B. Two — a partially open condition is held first, and full area is attained after a predetermined period
  • C. Three — the canopy widens in three successive steps, each triggered by an altitude sensor on the module
  • D. Four — the canopy widens in four successive steps, one for each type of parachute in the system

Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the first and second Integrated Air Drop Tests (IADT-01 and IADT-02) of the Gaganyaan programme: 1. The simulated Crew Module used in IADT-01 weighed about 4.8 tonnes, whereas the one used in IADT-02 weighed about 5.7 tonnes, matching the mass of the Crew Module for the first uncrewed mission. 2. In both tests the simulated Crew Module was released from an altitude of about 3 km by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter. 3. IADT-01 was carried out at the drop zone in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh, while IADT-02 was shifted to Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The simulated Crew Module used in IADT-01 weighed about 4.8 tonnes, whereas the one used in IADT-02 weighed about 5.7 tonnes, matching the mass of the Crew Module for the first uncrewed mission.
  2. In both tests the simulated Crew Module was released from an altitude of about 3 km by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter.
  3. IADT-01 was carried out at the drop zone in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh, while IADT-02 was shifted to Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. The Integrated Main parachute Airdrop Test conducted in July 2026, which qualified the main parachute for the maximum expected load conditions of the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission, was which one of the following in the IMAT series?

  • A. The second test of the series, and the first to use a fixed-wing aircraft as the drop platform
  • B. The third test of the series, and the first to be conducted over an inland drop zone
  • C. The fifth test of the series, and one conducted with a single main parachute and a dummy mass
  • D. The seventh test of the series, and the concluding test before the crewed flight clearance

Q7. In the first Integrated Air Drop Test of the Gaganyaan programme, the parachute cluster brought the descending simulated Crew Module down to a touchdown speed of about how much?

  • A. About 2 m/s
  • B. About 8 m/s
  • C. About 25 m/s
  • D. About 170 m/s

Q8. The first Integrated Air Drop Test validated the deceleration system for a 'launch pad abort' mission scenario. Which one of the following correctly describes that scenario?

  • A. The Crew Escape System pulls the Crew Module clear while the vehicle is still at or close to the pad, the module then descending on its parachutes to a sea landing
  • B. The Crew Module separates only after the Crew Escape System is jettisoned at the end of the atmospheric flight regime and follows a suborbital path
  • C. The Crew Module returns from orbit after completing its mission and is brought down over a designated land recovery zone
  • D. The disreefing of one main parachute is deliberately delayed relative to another so that the cluster shares an asymmetric load

Q9. In the Gaganyaan flight architecture, which one of the following is the primary system relied upon for crew safety during the ascent phase, being operational right from the launch pad?

  • A. The Crew Escape System, which remains functional until its separation after the atmospheric flight regime
  • B. The parachute-based deceleration system, which is armed on the pad and holds ten canopies of four types
  • C. The Service Module propulsion system, which is fired to carry the Orbital Module away from the vehicle
  • D. The environmental control and life support system, which sustains the crew through every phase of the flight

Q10. Consider the following statements about the Gaganyaan programme and its first uncrewed mission (G1): 1. The crewed Gaganyaan mission envisages carrying three Indian astronauts to an orbit of about 400 km for a seven-day mission. 2. As stated by ISRO in 2025, the crewed flight is targeted for 2027 and is to be preceded by uncrewed flights of the human-rated LVM3, with G1 carrying the humanoid Vyomamitra to low Earth orbit. 3. G1 is configured as a suborbital flight of the Crew Module alone, without any Service Module. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The crewed Gaganyaan mission envisages carrying three Indian astronauts to an orbit of about 400 km for a seven-day mission.
  2. As stated by ISRO in 2025, the crewed flight is targeted for 2027 and is to be preceded by uncrewed flights of the human-rated LVM3, with G1 carrying the humanoid Vyomamitra to low Earth orbit.
  3. G1 is configured as a suborbital flight of the Crew Module alone, without any Service Module.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q11. Consider the following statements about the way redundancy is built into the Gaganyaan Crew Module's parachute-based deceleration system: 1. All ten parachutes are released together once the module enters the lower atmosphere, so that the failure of any one canopy is immediately compensated by the others. 2. The drogue parachutes are ejected in pairs from pyro-based mortars, whereas the main parachutes are not mortar-ejected but are pulled out by pilot parachutes. 3. The ten parachutes belong to four types, with either two or three canopies provided for each type. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. All ten parachutes are released together once the module enters the lower atmosphere, so that the failure of any one canopy is immediately compensated by the others.
  2. The drogue parachutes are ejected in pairs from pyro-based mortars, whereas the main parachutes are not mortar-ejected but are pulled out by pilot parachutes.
  3. The ten parachutes belong to four types, with either two or three canopies provided for each type.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q12. The Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility, at which the Gaganyaan drogue parachute was subjected to qualification-level load testing in 2026, functions under which one of the following?

  • A. Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh, a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation
  • B. Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment, Agra, the establishment that designs the deceleration system
  • C. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, the ISRO centre responsible for launch vehicle systems
  • D. Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, the ISRO centre where the integrated air drop tests are conducted