Gaganyaan mission: ISRO conducts important test on main parachutes
Bengaluru (PTI): ISRO on Tuesday said it has successfully conducted an important test on main parachutes for the Gaganyaan Crew Module at the Babina Field Firing Range (BFFR) in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi on November 3.
The Indian space agency said this test is part of the ongoing series of Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Tests (IMAT) for the qualification of the parachute system for the Gaganyaan mission.
The Gaganyaan mission is India's first human spaceflight programme, aiming to send a three-member crew on a three-day mission to space and return them safely to Earth.
As part of the mission, ISRO is developing a human-rated launch vehicle, an orbital module, and a crew-escape system. The programme includes prior unmanned missions to test critical systems before the first manned flight.
In a statement, ISRO said that for the Gaganyaan Crew Module, the parachute system comprises a total of 10 parachutes of four types.
It added that the descent sequence begins with two apex cover separation parachutes that remove the protective cover of the parachute compartment, followed by two drogue parachutes (small powerful parachute deployed from a fast moving object to slow it down) that stabilise and decelerate the module.
Upon release of the drogues, three pilot parachutes are deployed to extract three main parachutes, which further slow down the Crew Module to ensure a safe touchdown, ISRO said.
"The system is designed with redundancy—two of the three main parachutes are sufficient to achieve a safe landing. The main parachutes of the Gaganyaan mission deploy in a step-by-step process known as reefed inflation," ISRO said.
In this process, the parachute first opens partially, which is called reefing, and then fully opens after a predetermined period of time, known as disreefing. This process is carried out using pyro device, it explained.
A pyro device, short for pyrotechnic device, is any mechanism that uses controlled combustion or an explosive chemical reaction to perform a specific function, usually to generate gas, pressure, heat, light, or motion.
"In this test, one of the possible extreme scenarios of delay in the disreefing between the two main parachutes was successfully demonstrated validating the main parachutes for the maximum design," ISRO said.
"The test evaluated the system’s structural integrity and load distribution under asymmetric disreefing conditions—one of the most critical load scenarios expected during actual mission descent," the agency said.
A simulated mass equivalent to the Crew Module was dropped from an altitude of 2.5 km using the Indian Air Force’s IL-76 aircraft, it said, adding the parachute system deployed as planned and the sequence was executed flawlessly, and the test article achieved a stable descent and soft landing, validating the robustness of the parachute design.
"The successful completion of this test marks another significant step toward qualifying the parachute system for human spaceflight, with active participation from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO, Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), DRDO, Indian Air Force and the Indian Army," ISRO said.
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Grok obscene AI content: X submits response, IT Ministry examining it, say sources
New Delhi (PTI): The IT Ministry is examining the response and submissions made by X following a government directive to crack down on misuse of artificial intelligence chatbot Grok by users for the creation of sexualised and obscene images of women and minors, sources said.
X had been given extended time until Wednesday, 5 PM to submit a detailed Action Taken Report to the ministry, after a stern warning was issued to the Elon Musk-led social media platform over indecent and sexually-explicit content being generated through misuse of AI-based services like 'Grok' and other tools.
Sources told PTI that X has submitted their response, and it is under examination.
The details of X's submission were, however, not immediately known.
On Sunday, X's 'Safety' handle said it takes action against illegal content on its platform, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
"Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," X had said, reiterating the stance taken by Musk on illegal content.
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On January 2, the IT Ministry pulled up X and directed it to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content, especially generated by Grok (X's built-in artificial intelligence interface) or face action under the law.
In the directive on Friday, the ministry asked the US-based social media firm to submit a detailed action taken report (ATR) within 72 hours, spelling out specific technical and organisational measures adopted or proposed in relation to the Grok application; the role and oversight exercised by the Chief Compliance Officer; actions taken against offending content, users and accounts; as well as mechanisms to ensure compliance with the mandatory reporting requirement under Indian laws.
The IT Ministry, in the ultimatum issued, noted that Grok AI, developed by X and integrated on the platform, is being misused by users to create fake accounts to host, generate, publish or share obscene images or videos of women in a derogatory or vulgar manner.
"Importantly, this is not limited to creation of fake accounts but also targets women who host or publish their images or videos, through prompts, image manipulation and synthetic outputs," the ministry said, asserting that such conduct reflects a serious failure of platform-level safeguards and enforcement mechanisms, and amounts to gross misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in violation of stipulated laws.
The government made it clear to X that compliance with the IT Act and rules is not optional, and that the statutory exemptions under section 79 of the IT Act (which deals with safe harbour and immunity from liability for online intermediaries) are conditional upon strict observance of due diligence obligations.
"Accordingly, you are advised to strictly desist from the hosting, displaying, uploading, publication, transmission, storage, sharing of any content on your platform that is obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, sexually explicit, paedophilic, or otherwise prohibited under any law...," the ministry said.
The government warned X in clear terms that any failure to observe due diligence obligations shall result in the loss of the exemption from liability under section 79 of the IT Act, and that the platform will also be liable for consequential action under other laws, including the IT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It asked X to enforce user terms of service and AI usage restrictions, including ensuring strong deterrent measures such as suspension, termination and other enforcement actions against violating users and accounts.
X has also been asked to remove or disable access "without delay" to all content already generated or disseminated in violation of applicable laws, in strict compliance with the timelines prescribed under the IT Rules, 2021, without, as such, vitiating the evidence.
Besides India, the platform has drawn flak in the UK and Malaysia too. Ofcom, the UK's independent communications regulator, in a recent social media post, said: "We are aware of serious concerns raised about a feature on Grok on X that produces undressed images of people and sexualised images of children".
"We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK. Based on their response, we will undertake a swift assessment to determine whether there are potential compliance issues that warrant investigation," Ofcom said.
