ISRO achieved a pivotal milestone for India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight program by successfully completing drogue parachute deployment qualification tests on December 18-19, 2025, at the Rail Track Rocket Sled facility of DRDO’s Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigarh. These rigorous trials validated the parachutes’ stability and deceleration under extreme re-entry conditions, forming a key part of the crew module’s 10-parachute system—starting with apex cover separation, followed by drogue stabilization, pilot extraction, and main parachutes for safe splashdown. Involving Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment, and DRDO, this success bolsters India’s indigenous crew recovery capabilities, counters reliance on foreign tech amid border tensions, and positions New Delhi as a strategic space power, potentially enhancing satellite surveillance for national security by early 2026 uncrewed flights