Crew Escape System

Crew Escape System Latest News

ISRO has developed a cost-effective, single-stage Test vehicle powered by the Vikas engine to validate the crew escape system (CES).

About Crew Escape System

• It is an emergency escape measure designed to quickly pull the crew module along with the astronauts to a safe distance from the launch vehicle in the event of a launch abort. 
• The CES is classified into two types based on the way it extracts the crew module:
  • Puller type: It is used in Gaganyaan, where the CES pulls the crew module away from the launch vehicle;
  • Pusher type: It is used in vehicles like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, where the crew module is pushed away using compact, high-thrust liquid-fuel engines.
• The U.S.’s Saturn V, Russia’s Soyuz, and China’s Long March vehicles also use puller-type CES designs.

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Working of Crew Escape System

• Once the CES has moved the crew module a safe distance away from the failing vehicle, the module will be released and decelerated by a multistage parachute system.
• It will reduce the module’s velocity in steps, ensuring it splashes down safely in the sea without exceeding the crew’s physiological limits upon impact.
• Typically, the crew will remain inside the module until splashdown.
• The Integrated Vehicle Health Management system (IVHM), which is a network of sensors, electronics, and software, will aid in taking a decision to activate the CES when a contingency arises.
  • It will monitor all vital parameters of vehicle systems and crew health in real time.
  • Based on the synthesised information and the flight regime, it will ensure prompt anomaly detection, minimise false alarms, and activate the CES early enough to protect the crew.

Source: TH