BENGALURU: Gaganyatri Air Commodore Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair KC said on Tuesday that the capsule communicator (CAPCOM) concept for the Gaganyaan manned space mission, which is essential for the flight and ground controller system has been established.
In a CAPCOM concept a designated single-voice liaison is established in the mission control centre to handle all direct radio communication with astronauts during the space mission.
Speaking to The New Indian Express on the sidelines of the three-day 9th edition of Bengaluru Space Expo- 2026, Nair said the protocol mission operation, capsule communication and decision matrix which were lacking until now, have been established.
In space mission terms, protocol mission operations are a structured set of rules, communication standards, and step-by-step procedures used to control, monitor, and coordinate a spacecraft and its ground team. A decision matrix is a quantitative tool engineers and programme managers use to evaluate and select complex project alternatives by scoring them against weighted performance and risk criteria.
The knowledge and information gathered during the Axiom mission (on which his fellow-Gaganyatri, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, went to the International Space Station (ISS) last year) was shared with ISRO teams here, which was useful in establishing the communication networks.
Nair said ISRO is also obtaining significant academic help for strengthening the Gaganyaan mission’s response programmes. ISRO has also opened up PhD opportunities, particularly after the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology signed an MoU with ISRO for space medicine research.
He said special teams working closely with the Gaganyatris are now monitoring each astronaut’s health and physical parameters, including their diet chart – what they eat and when.
He said training in high altitudes like Ladakh and in deserts has been completed so far, with more training scheduled ahead, stressing that preparation—physical and mental, for the mission is a continuous process until execution.
Explaining further requirements, he said a humane approach is also necessary when designing the space suits. “The (sci-fi) movies have given a false image. It is important to understand humans are going there. The spacesuits need to be designed based on how one will use the washroom. Space toilets are important. It is also important to ensure the air we breathe in space is safe. There are also other physiological and psychological needs in space which must be addressed for short and long duration missions,” he said.
Pointing to the variance in rules and space laws that are currently unaddressed, he noted that at the ISS, the rules of NASA and Russia are followed because the space station belongs to them. “But what happens when the Bharatiya Antariksh Station is established and when Indians or people from other countries go into space?” he questioned. He said, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 is now obsolete. New rules and laws are needed, along with protection for the interests of start-ups and smaller firms working on space projects, as they could be absorbed by larger MNCs and then by larger space giants.