Union Minister Jitendra Singh recently announced that India’s first space-flight mission, Gaganyaan (human space flight), is scheduled to launch in 2024. Although the space flight was originally scheduled for 2021 by the government, it was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A spacefaring female humanoid robot, which will be following the test-flight, will take part in the first flight. Four fighter pilots have been identified by the Indian Air Force (IAF), as potential crew members for the human spaceflight mission.
According to a report from PTI, Gaganyaan is India’s first human space-flight mission. Union Minister Jitendra Sing stated that it will launch in 2024. The government had originally planned to launch the space-flight in 2021, as mentioned previously. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was not possible to launch the space-flight on time.
The first test-flight is set to be followed by a female-looking spacefaring humanoid robot — Vyom Mitra — into outer space.
The IAF has already identified four fighter pilots to be part of the crew for the space-flight mission. They’ve been trained in Russia.
The spacecraft will be launched at an altitude of 15km. Space scientists will then simulate an abort scenario. This will ensure that the crew capsule returns to Earth via parachutes.
The crew capsule of Gaganyaan will be taken to higher altitudes by the second orbital test flight. To perfect the system, another abort scenario is planned.
