Isro stays quiet on 4th Gaganyaan parachute test despite 5th milestone

Isro has completed the fifth Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT-05) for the Gaganyaan crew module, but has not disclosed when the fourth test, IMAT-04, was conducted or what it demonstrated, according to the space agency’s announcement of the latest trial.

The fifth test, carried out on 7 July at the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment drop zone in Sheopur, dropped a simulated single main parachute and dummy payload from 2.5 km using an Indian Air Force IL-76 aircraft, successfully validating the main parachute’s structural integrity under peak load conditions expected during the G1 uncrewed mission.

Isro has publicly detailed the objectives of IMAT-01, IMAT-03 and now IMAT-05, but IMAT-02 and IMAT-04 remain undisclosed. IMAT-01, conducted in November 2022, tested a simulated main parachute failure to validate the system’s redundancy, while IMAT-03, conducted in November 2025, tested a delay in disreefing between two main parachutes.

The crew module’s deceleration system uses 10 parachutes across four types, and the latest test was carried out jointly by Isro, DRDO, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army.