He said, uncrewed ‘G1 mission’ will be targeted in the last quarter of next year, followed by the ‘G2’ in the second quarter of 2024. Dr. Jitendra Singh said the astronaut designates for the Gaganyaan are identified and undergoing mission-specific training at Bengaluru. The first uncrewed flight of Gaganyaan programme ‘G1’ mission is aimed at validating the performance of the human rated launch vehicle, Orbital module propulsion system, mission management, communication system, and recovery operations. The mission will carry a humanoid as a payload.
Gaganyaan Mission:
- Aim:
- Gaganyaan is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft that is intended to send 3 astronauts to space for a minimum of seven days by 2022 (delayed due to COVID-19).
- Launched by:
- ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV Mk III (3 stages heavy-lift vehicle)
- Components:
- Consists of a service module and a crew module, collectively known as an Orbital Module (Crew Module carries astronauts & Service Modules carries propellants.)
- LEO: It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from the earth for 5-7 days.
- Vyom Mitra: ISRO to send humanoid Vyommitra in unmanned Gaganyaan spacecraft ahead of human spaceflight (Monitoring module parameters).
Other Major Space Projects:
- Venus mission: This will be the first mission to Venus by the ISRO.
- L-1 Aditya solar: India’s first scientific expedition to study the Sun
- Chandrayaan-3: It is a lander-and rover-specific mission, a follow-up of the Chandrayaan-2 mission.