India's first manned space mission 'Gaganyaan' will send three persons to space for seven days
Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space, Jitendra Singh said GSLV Mk III, the three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has the necessary payload capability.
Published: 28th August 2018 03:29 PM | Last Updated: 30th August 2018 03:19 PM | A+A A-
In this file image, ISRO launches India's heaviest rocket GSLV-Mk III along with a communications satellite GSAT-19 on 06 June 2017 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, AP. (File | PTI)
NEW DELHI: Gaganyaan, India’s first manned space mission announced by PM Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech, will carry three crew to space in 2022. They will spend seven days in space and land in the Arabian sea off the Gujarat coast. Pegged at nearly Rs 10,000 crore, the technology for the mission will be indigenously built while the crew might be sent abroad for space training. India will be the fourth country after Russia, the US and China to launch a human spaceflight mission.
“The mission will have a separate budget,” said Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space. Isro chairman Dr K Sivan said prior to human space flight, two unmanned missions would be undertaken. The first unmanned flight will be sent within 30 months and the second in 36 months. The manned mission will be at 40 months from now.
Isro is likely to soon come up with advertisement for recruiting crew as they need to undergo 2-3 years of training to be designed jointly by Isro and the Indian Air Force. Isro is also in touch with India’s first man in space, Rakesh Sharma, on experiments and crew module.
Anybody can apply
Isro has been working on this mission since 2004. While any Indian can apply, pilots will get preference. The selection and training will be done by Isro and the Indian Air Force
