The Gaganyaan Mission is India’s first human space flight program for which extensive preparations are underway at various ISRO centres and is set to launch between 2024-25.
The astronauts have undergone a year-long training course in Russia’s Zvyozdny Gorodok city during the pandemic and are now based in a unit of Isro getting familiar with the intricacies of the Gaganyaan mission.
PM Modi also inaugurated three projects namely, a Trisonic Wind Tunnel at VSSC, a Semi-Cryogenic Integrated Engine and Stage Test Facility at ISRO’s propulsion complex in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, and the PSLV Integration Facility at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.
With an aim to provide world-class technical facilities for the space sector, these three projects have been developed at a cumulative cost of about Rs 1,800 crore.
What is Gaganyaan and what’s the latest update?
Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of four members to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian waters, according to ISRO.Also Read: ISRO completes final test for Gaganyaan rocket engine that can carry humans to spaceIndia’s national space agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on February 13 completed the final round of ground qualification tests on February 13, 2024.
“ISRO has accomplished a major milestone in the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine that powers the cryogenic stage of the human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle for Gaganyaan missions, with the completion of the final round of ground qualification tests on February 13, 2024,” said ISRO in its official statement.
ISRO has informed that the final test was the seventh of a series of vacuum ignition tests carried out at the High Altitude Test Facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, to simulate the flight conditions.
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