The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the space agency of India. It works to develop and launch satellites for various purposes like navigation, communication, weather forecasting, broadcasting, disaster management, etc.
What is Mission Gaganyaan?
Image Source- India Science
Gaganyaan is a mission launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is the first manned space mission of India. It is named after the Sanskrit word for vehicle to the sky. It will be launched at the end of 2024 or the start of 2025. It is a three-day mission in which a crew of four astronauts will be sent to an orbit of 400km by human spaceflight. This year a test flight will be done in which a robot will be sent to space.
Announcement of Astronauts
Image Source- CNBC TV18
On Tuesday, PM Modi announced the names of four Astronauts who are undergoing training for Gaganyaan at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre(VSSC) at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram.
The officers chosen from the Indian Airforce are Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Subhanshu Shukla. After the announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ISRO chief S Somanath pinned golden wings badges on their shirt and Mr Modi described them as “India’s Pride”
The first level of selection was done at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IMA). After going through multiple testing rounds of selection, the final four were selected by IAM and ISRO. By the start of 2020, ISRO sent the four officers for initial training at Glavkosmos (a subsidiary of the Russian space agency Roscosmos).
One of the four astronauts will be trained at NASA (National Aeronautic and Space Agency). This announcement was made by Bill Nelson, administrator of NASA, during his visit to New Delhi in 2023. “The country will now know the Gaganyaan passengers. These are not just four people but are the power who will lift the 140 crores Indian to space,” The Prime Minister said. “After a wait of Forty years, an Indian is going to space. But we are happy that this time all the efforts belong to us.” he said. Earlier, Rakesh Sharma went to space in 1984 through the Soviet Union.
Launch Vehicle
The Indian LVM3 rocket will be used as a launch vehicle for the Gaganyaan mission, it was also used earlier in the Chandrayaan-3 mission. It is now being reconfigured specially for the mission to reach the requirements of human needs and is named Human Rated LVM3. It is the most powerful launch vehicle, which has flown seven times without any failure counted. It consists of liquid stage, solid stage, and cryogenic stage.
If it succeeds, this mission will make India reach a new height in the field of Space programs and India will become the fourth nation to launch a manned spaceflight mission after the United States, Russia, and China.