Mission Gaganyaan By ISRO: India’s First Manned Mission To Space

HIGHLIGHTS:

• The spacecraft is being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)
• It consists of a service module and a crew module, collectively known as the Orbital Module
• Isro’s GSLV Mk III, the three-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan

The Gaganyaan programme, an indigenous mission that would take Indian astronauts to space, was announced by the prime minister during his Independence day speech this year.

Gaganyaan is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft that is intended to send 3 astronauts to space for a minimum of seven days by 2022, as part of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme. The spacecraft, which is being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), consists of a service module and a crew module, collectively known as the Orbital Module.

It will be for the first time that India will launch its manned mission to space, making the country fourth in line to have sent a human to space.

Isro’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV Mk III, the three-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has the necessary payload capability.

Astronaut Selection For Gaganyaan Mission By IAF:

 IAF signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for crew selection and training for the Gaganyaan mission. Under the programme, aimed to be launched by 2021, a three-member crew will spend a minimum of seven days in the space.

Twelve people of the IAF have been selected as potential astronauts for the Gaganyaan project and seven of them have gone to Russia for training. The remaining selected potential passengers would be sent for training when the seven astronauts will be returned. Four of these people will be selected as astronauts after a multi-step process. However, one or two of these would actually go on a space trip in Gaganyaan.

• The mission is a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The mission worth ₹10,000 crores was approved by the Union Cabinet last year.
• If Gaganyaan is successful, India would become the fourth nation to achieve the feat.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) signed MoUs with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to offer technologies for the mission, including space food, survival kits for crew, radiation protection equipment and parachutes.
• Two unmanned flights and one manned flight will be undertaken as part of Gaganyaan Programme.
• India has signed agreements with Russia and France for cooperation on the Gaganyaan mission.