Jammu, April 30 -- ISRO is preparing to carry out a significant test as part of its upcoming Gaganyaan crewed spaceflight mission. The space agency aims to check the parachute recovery system of the crew module through an air drop test in the coming days.

Sources familiar with the plan say ISRO will conduct an Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT), where a Chinook helicopter will release the crew module from around 4-5km altitude. The test is slated within the next two to three days and will simulate a nominal splashdown scenario with both parachutes deploying properly.

This will be the first in a series of such air drop tests to evaluate the parachute performance under various off-nominal situations. Some test cases will include one parachut...