India’s maiden space mission, Gaganyaan, will be launched in 2023, Science & Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said on Thursday. In reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said that India’s maiden human space mission will soar to the skies in 2023, making the country the fourth nation in the world to launch a human spaceflight mission after the US, Russia and China.
Meanwhile, the test vehicle flight for the validation of Crew Escape System performance and the first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan are scheduled at the beginning of the second half of 2022.
“This will be followed by the second uncrewed mission at the end of 2022 carrying “Vyommitra” a spacefaring human-robot developed by Isro and finally the first crewed Gaganyaanmission in 2023,” he said.
He said that the objective of the Gaganyaan programme is to demonstrate the capability to send humans to low earth orbit (LEO) onboard an Indian launch vehicle and bring them back to earth safely.
The spacesuits, crew seats and viewports will soon be delivered from Russia as activities related to the development of microgravity experiments have commenced.
“More than 500 industries are involved in the launch of Gaganyaan with several research modules including an indigenous health research module. This was made possible as for the first time in 70 years, the sector has been unlocked for private participation to make India a competitive space market,” the minister told the Rajya Sabha.
While the training of the four Indian Air Force Officers has already entered a crucial stage both in India and in Russia, the Center is establishing the astronaut training facility at Bengaluru, which is in the advanced stage of completion.
