UNUnnikrishnan Nair S

1. Article · Aug 21, 2026 · Unnikrishnan Nair S.

   How Gaganyaan’s thermal protection system will survive re-entry | Explained (opens the original)

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   The atmospheric phase of all space missions is challenging for both ascending rockets and descending space capsules. As the rocket lifts off from the earth and heads towards its orbit, it accelerates slowly through the atmosphere to keep the mechanical loads on the vehicle to a minimum. When a space capsule, like the Gaganyaan crew module, re-enters from its orbit around the earth, it will hit the atmosphere at a blistering speed of 7,500-8,000 m/s. More than 99% of this kinetic energy will be d

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2. Article · Jul 15, 2026 · Unnikrishnan Nair S.

   How the Gaganyaan crew module is built to survive (opens the original)

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   Gaganyaan is India’s maiden crewed space mission, designed to carry Indian astronauts to space and safely return them back to earth. Here, the rocket — Human-rated Launch Vehicle Mark (HLVM) 3 — will inject the orbital module (OM) into the desired orbit. The Gaganyaan astronauts will be onboard the OM. The OM consists of two sections, the crew module and the service module, connected by a joint. The crew module serves as the crew habitat while the service module provides on-orbit support to the

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