IAF gave us 4 officers; after training and evaluation we will select Gaganyaan crew: ISRO chief

Thiruvananthapuram: ISRO Chairman S. Somnath said that the Gaganyaan mission will be carried out in 2025. However, three unmanned missions will be conducted before launch. The first unmanned mission will be by July this year. ISRO Chairman was speaking exclusively to Asianet News stating that two more unmanned missions will be conducted next year.

The first manned Gaganyaan mission will carry a maximum of two passengers. Sending only one traveler on the maiden mission is also under consideration. One of the four selected will visit the International Space Station before the Gaganyaan journey.

Somanath said, "Considering the current progress of the Gaganyaan, we expect to launch the mission by the end of 2025. This year, we have to at least do two uncrewed missions and three crew abort safety missions by mid-next year. If all these tests are conducted successfully, only then we can launch the Gaganyaan mission with the crew in the vehicle."

When can we launch the first unmanned mission?

"We expect to launch it by June-July this year. We need three launches before the actual mission. The first crew module will be non-pressurised, and the other two crew modules will be pressurised ones. This year two and next year one launch, that is how we have planned now. " 

After ISRO Chief, we have a Malayali as a captain for Gaganyaan....

"There's nothing like that. All four are equally talented and qualified individuals and among them, we have to select. These are the four individuals given by the Air Force. Their training has been completed and an evaluation process will take place. So before the mission only, the person will be selected for the mission. There is no leader as such."

"Indian Air Force and experts will conduct their physical and psychological tests. After all these are done, the highly qualified person for the mission will be selected," he said.

What about our Indian Space Station? 

"In 2035, we will have the Indian Space Station. PM Modi announced that India should have its space station and astronauts should keep travelling to the station. We will launch the station by 2028 in the initial stage and its design is soon going to be completed."

"The program with NASA was decided a few months ago. The US president and our Prime Minister's discussion paved the way for this idea. We have already selected the astronaut and informed NASA about it."

What are the next main projects?

One is, of course, the continuation of Gaganyaan as we have to launch more for the mission. Secondly, the Indian Space Station should be set up. Then Chandrayaan's sample returns and several satellites are to be launched.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (Feb 27) revealed the names of four astronauts selected for India's groundbreaking Gaganyaan mission. He formally introduced the chosen quartet at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. PM Modi met astronaut-designates for Gaganyaan Mission - Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander S Shukla - at VSSC.

The Gaganyaan mission, slated for 2025, aims to propel humans into space, positioning them in a Low Earth Orbit approximately 400 kilometres above the Earth's surface for a three-day mission. Employing an LVM3 rocket equipped with diverse propulsion systems, including solid, liquid, and cryogenic stages, the mission represents a historic leap in India's space exploration endeavours.
 

• ISRO Chief S Somanath
• Gaganyaan Mission