ISRO's test vehicle soars to the skies after initial hiccups.

ISRO aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bring them safely back to earth.

The Test Vehicle Abort Mission (TV-D1) aims at studying the safety of the Gaganyaan mission in bringing Indian astronauts back to Earth.

The TV-D1 vehicle uses a modified VIKAS engine with a Crew Module and Crew Escape System mounted at its fore end.

Crew module, which is the payload in the rocket, is a habitable space with an Earth-like environment in space for the crew. It consists of a pressurised metallic 'inner structure' and an unpressurised 'external structure' with 'thermal protection systems'.

Test Vehicle Abort Mission (TV-D1) launches the Crew Escape Systems and Crew Module at an altitude of 17 km. They make a safe touchdown in the sea, about 10 km from the eastern coast of Sriharikota.

They would later be retrieved by the Navy from the Bay of Bengal.

If the test is successful, ISRO will then send Vyommitra a female humanoid in an unmanned Gaganyaan spacecraft next year.