Gaganyaan mission: How ISRO's crucial drogue parachutes will bring Indian astronauts home safely
Published on: Dec. 22, 2025, 7:58 p.m. | Source: THE WEEK
Imagine a rocket trolley racing down a long track at incredible speeds—faster than a Formula One race car—and then suddenly hitting the brakes with enormous force. This is not a scene from a science fiction movie but exactly what happened in Chandigarh on December 18 and 19, when India successfully tested a crucial safety system for its first human space mission.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India's space agency, has just cleared another major hurdle in its ambitious Gaganyaan mission, bringing the country one step closer to sending astronauts into space. The tests focused on something called drogue parachutes, which might sound like a simple piece of equipment but are actually lifesavers for astronauts returning from space.
