India is set to conduct a significant test as part of its Gaganyaan space mission on October 21. Deputy Minister for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, stated that the test involves launching an empty module into outer space and bringing it back to Earth. This test serves as a precursor for the final mission, which is scheduled for next year and will be the country’s first crewed space mission. The entire mission is projected to cost approximately 90.23 billion Indian rupees ($1.08 billion). It will focus on launching a human-habitable space capsule with a crew of three individuals, orbiting it at 400 km (250 miles) above the Earth’s surface, and bringing the crew back safely to Indian waters.
The term “Gaganyaan” translates to sky craft in Hindi. The forthcoming October test will be conducted from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in southern India and will specifically assess the crew escape system’s effectiveness in emergency situations. Another test flight carrying a robot to outer space will follow before the final manned mission is executed.
Addressing the audience at a program honoring the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists associated with the Chandrayaan-3 mission, Jitendra Singh revealed plans for a test flight next year. This flight will introduce “Vyommitra”, a female robot astronaut designed to simulate the conditions of a manned mission. Meanwhile, the exact timeline for the main mission remains undisclosed, but it is expected to be launched from Sriharikota, the country’s primary spaceport, by the end of 2024.
Singh’s statement came after India’s monumental achievement of becoming the first country to land on the south pole of the Moon with the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Not long after that success, the country’s space agency launched a rocket to study the sun, marking India’s first solar mission.
($1 = 83.2066 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Sakshi Dayal, editing by Deborah Kyvrikosaios)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
