Gaganyaan Mission by ISRO: IAF to Select 10 Potential Astronauts in 2 Months, Three Best Ones to Be Trained for India’s First Human Spaceflight
Gaganyaan Mission involves sending a 3-member crew on board a heavy rocket to an altitude of 350-400 km and orbit around the planet for conducting experiments in space during a week-long voyage.
New Delhi, June 12: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to screen and pick 10 potential crew members in the next two months for Gaganyaan Mission, the country's prestigious maiden human mission to space. According to a report by TOI, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Sivan said that the space agency will choose the final three astronauts from the 10 people which will be trained for the mission by the IAF. In February, Sivan had said that the first two levels of training will happen at the IAF’s Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) in Bengaluru, and the final phase of training will be abroad.
Sivan added saying that ISRO will finally choose three members in the next two months from the 10 crew members for the human spaceflight mission. In May, The IAF had signed an agreement with ISRO for crew selection and training for the country's prestigious maiden manned mission Gaganyaan by 2021-22. "The agreement was signed by Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Space Operations) Air Vice Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor and Gaganyaan Project Director R. Hutton in the presence of the space agency's Chairman K. Sivan here," tweeted IAF. Chandrayaan-2: ISRO Chief Says India's Second Lunar Mission to Moon Will be Equipped With Lander, Rover.
According to the TOI report, Sivan said ISRO also tested CE-20 engine which will carry the Indian astronauts to space. Giving details about the role of IAF, DRDO and Indian Navy, Sivan said, the IAF will handle crew selection and training, the DRDO will provide the life support system for crew while the Navy will help in recovering the human capsule once it re-enters the atmosphere and splashes down in sea.
Reports inform that the selection and training of the crew members for the mission will be conducted at ISRO's Human Space Flight Centre which was opened on January 31. The centre has been built adjacent to its headquarters in the city, to develop technologies for the manned space missions.
About Gaganyaan Mission
Gaganyaan, India's maiden manned mission, is a Rs 9,023-crore ambitious project. It involves sending a 3-member crew on board a heavy rocket to an altitude of 350-400 km and orbit around the planet for conducting experiments in space during a week-long voyage. The NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on December 28, 2018 approved the country's first human space flight programme.
In his Independence Day address on August 15, 2018, the Prime Minister had announced that ISRO will send three astronauts, including a woman, in a capsule into space around the earth's orbit for a week-long rendezvous by December 2021 or 2022, which marks the country's 75th year of independence.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 12, 2019 12:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).