New Delhi: The first uncrewed mission of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, G1, is ready to launch with the half-humanoid robot — Vyommitra — and the launch is expected in December, said V Narayanan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). India will reportedly launch its first manned mission to space in 2027.
Speaking at a press briefing in the national capital, he also lauded IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla for his successful mission to the International Space Station — the first ever by an Indian. Shukla is one of the astronauts selected for the crewed Gaganyaan mission.
“The first uncrewed mission, G1, is going to be lifted off by this year's end, maybe close to December. And in that, the Vyommitra, the half-humanoid, is going to fly,” Narayanan said, while thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing the Gaganyaan program on August 15, 2018.
Meanwhile, astronaut Shukla said that reaching the International Space Station (ISS) was a mission of the 140 crore Indians. After spending 18 days on the ISS, as part of the US-based Axiom Space's Mission 4 along with astronauts from the US, Poland, and Hungary, he returned to Earth on July 15. Following a month-long rehabilitation in the US, Shukla returned to India on August 17.
"I would like to thank every citizen of this country who behaved in a way that made it feel like they actually owned this mission. I truly felt that this was a mission for the entire nation," Group Captain Shukla said at a press briefing. He also thanked the government and ISRO for making the mission possible. The IAF officer also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the PM's official residence in New Delhi and apprised him about his mission to the space lab.
