Summary: <p>India's space agency has carried out the first in a series of tests flights ahead of its planned mission to take astronauts into space in 2025.</p> <p>The Gaganyaan spacecraft was launched at 10:00 local time (04:30GMT) on Saturday from Sriharikota.</p> <p>This was the day's second attempt - the first was put on hold five seconds before the scheduled launch time.</p> <p>The test was conducted to demonstrate whether the crew could safely escape the rocket in case it malfunctioned.</p> <p>"I am very happy to announce the successful accomplishment of the TV-D1 (Test Vehicle Demonstration 1) mission," S Somanath, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), said after the launch as his colleagues cheered and applauded.</p>
