CARE module reaches Ennore port - ISRO to study recorded data

     The CARE (Crew-module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment) module which is a prototype of India's future orbital vehicle has been recovered by a Coast Guard ship & has reached Ennore port in Chennai. ISRO scientists at VSSC (Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum) will be analyzing all the data collected by the module. "The crew module has around 200 sensors to record various aspects of the flight. Our team at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvanthapuram will study the data," S.Somanath, project director, GSLV-Mark III said. He added that a static recorder of the crew module has recorded the various aspects - thermal, acoustics, velocity, electronics performance and others. The recordings were done when the module was in its descent. ISRO successfully tested its heaviest next-generation rocket - the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mark III) - few days ago. The crew module remained in air for around 20 minutes before splashing in Bay of Bengal. It was recovered by Indian Coast Guard ship 'ICGS Samudra Paheredar' and was brought to Ennore Kamarajar Port. "The module will be transported to Sriharikota (where the rocket port is located in Andhra Pradesh). At Sriharikota the module's on-board fuel tanks would be cleaned and then sent to VSSC where the data would be studied," Somanath said.

 The CARE module being given 'final touch' prior to launch

 The interior design of the CARE module

The spectacular lift-off of India GSLV-3 rocket that carried the CARE module