ISRO Gaganyaan Mission

Giving astronaut wings to four selected designates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed the squad set to go to space as part of the Gaganyaan, India's first manned space mission. Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Subhanshu Shukla met the PM and were handed the astronaut wings at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram.

The Gaganyaan Mission is India's first human space flight program for which extensive preparations are underway at various ISRO centers 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.

It is to be noted that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is targeting a launch window between 2024 and 2025 for this ambitious endeavor.

Speaking at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, PM Modi said, “They are not just four names or four human beings, they are the four powers that are going to take the aspirations of 140 crore Indians to space. An Indian is going to space, after 40 years. This time, the time is ours, the countdown is ours and the rocket is ours."

“In the development journey of every country, there are some moments which not only define the present but also the future of its coming generations. Today is one such moment for India."

What is Gaganyaan and what's the latest update?

Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of four members to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bringing them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian waters, according to ISRO.

India's national space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on February 13, 2024, completed the final round of ground qualification tests.

"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.