The Gaganyaan Mission is India’s first manned space mission, launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), aiming to send Indian astronauts (or vyomanauts) into space. This ambitious mission is a significant milestone in India’s space exploration journey, marking India’s entry into the elite group of countries capable of human spaceflight. The Prime Minister announced the names of the four astronauts who will fly to low-Earth orbit as part of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Gaganyaan Mission. The mission focuses on advancing India’s capabilities in human space technology, astronaut training, and orbital safety, with plans for broader space exploration projects in the future.

Gaganyaan Mission Postponed to 2026

India’s Gaganyaan Mission has been postponed to 2026 to ensure the highest safety standards and comprehensive astronaut training. Initially scheduled for 2025, ISRO has opted to delay the mission by a year to refine safety measures and complete essential training for the mission’s crew. This additional time allows ISRO to address challenges, including testing and enhancing life support systems, which are critical for a successful manned mission.

Gaganyaan Mission: Names of Four Astronauts

The PM announced while visiting the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It will be the first crewed Indian space mission. The four astronauts are:

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• Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair.
• Group Captain Ajit Krishnan
• Group Captain Angad Pratap
• Wing Commander Subhanshu Shukla

They have been selected to be the astronauts on India’s first crewed mission to space.

• ISRO and Glavkosmos (a subsidiary of Russian space agency Roscosmos) signed a memorandum of understanding for the training of four astronauts in June 2019.
• The four astronauts trained at Russia’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in February 2020 till March 2021.

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What is the Gaganyaan Mission?

Gaganyaan mission is a space mission to demonstrate ISRO’s human spaceflight capability by launching a human crew to an orbit of 400 km and bringing them safely back to earth.

• Cost of the Gaganyaan Mission: The total cost of the Gaganyaan Programme is approximately Rs 9023 crore.

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• Launch vehicle: GSLV Mk III, also known as LVM-3, will be used as a launch vehicle in Gaganyaan mission. 
  • After reconfiguring to meet human safety demand, it has been renamed as Human Rated LVM-3. 
• Astronaut Training: The astronauts short-listed for Gaganyaan mission will be trained in Russia. 
  • They will be familiarized with flying in weightless condition during the course of training.
• Collaborative Endeavors: Uniting Forces for the Advancement of India’s Gaganyaan Mission
• Indian Armed Forces
  • Defence Research Development organization
  • Indian Meteorological Department
  • Indian maritime agencies – Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Shipping Corporation of India, National Institute of Oceanography, National Institute of Ocean Technology.
  • Academic institutes
  • CSIR Labs
  • Industry partners

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Aims & Objectives of Gaganyaan Mission:

• Human Space Capability: The mission aims to demonstrate India’s capability to launch human beings to low earth orbit and safely return them to Earth.
• Scientific Career: The mission will act as an encouragement for people to pursue Science and Technology careers in the country.

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Integral Components of the Gaganyaan Spacecraft

• Orbital Module: The Central Hub of the Gaganyaan Mission, Orbital Module (OM), which will orbit the Earth, will comprise of Crew Module (CM) and Service Module (SM). The OM will be equipped with advanced avionics systems.
• Service Module: It comprises of propulsion system, thermal system, power systems, avionics systems and deployment mechanisms, which aim to provide necessary support to Crew Module while in orbit.
• Crew Module: Crew Module will have an Earth like environment in space for the crew. It will include crew interfaces, human centric products, life support system, avionics and deceleration systems.

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A Comprehensive Overview of Gaganyaan Mission Stages and Milestones

• Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT): As part of Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT) of the Parachute Deceleration System (PDS), a 5-ton dummy mass equivalent of the actual crew module was dropped from an altitude of 2.5 km by the Indian Air Force. 
• Pad Abort Test (PAT): The Pad Abort Test is a trial run to check the spacecraft’s launch abort system. This system has been designed to quickly get the crew and spacecraft away from the rocket in case of a potential failure.
• Crew Abort Test Mission: For the abort test mission, an unpressurised version of the crew module will be used. This module includes systems for the deceleration and recovery, including parachutes.
  • The crew module will be launched on a single-stage liquid rocket. The mission is to simulate the abort condition that may be encountered during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 in the Gaganyaan mission.
  • As part of the abort mission, the crew escape system and crew module will be separated from the test vehicle at an altitude of about 17 km. 
  • Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously resulting in the deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of the crew module in Bay of Bengal. 
• Vyomitra: A humanoid robot known as Vyommitra is expected to be onboard second uncrewed Gaganyaan mission to perform microgravity experiments and monitor module parameters.
  • It is used to simulate functions like a human from the waist up. The robot can detect and pass warnings in case of environmental changes within the cabin, making it uncomfortable for astronauts. 
• Manned Flight: The manned flight is the final part of the Gaganyaan mission where a human astronaut will be launched to space and will safely be escorted back to the Earth through a soft landing in Arabian Sea off the coast of Gujarat.
  • This is the main part of the mission, whereas the previous components were executed for ensuring safety of the final mission.

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Potential Benefits of Gaganyaan Mission: Fostering Innovation, Growth, and Collaboration

• Innovation Environment: The mission will help promote innovation and creativity in the country by inspiring the next generation of students.
• Manned Missions: Gaganyaan mission will help in developing the critical technology for carrying out scientific human space exploration in future.
• Employment Creation: The majority of components and technology required for the mission is developed indigenously, thereby creating employment opportunities in the private sector.
• Private Sector Growth: The success of the mission will encourage the private sector to invest in space technologies.
• Human Beneficial Technology: Technology developed for Gaganyaan Mission can be utilized for betterment of the society.
• International Collaboration: India’s technological demonstration will pave the way for future international space collaboration.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: The mission will involve collaboration between numerous agencies, disciplines, laboratories, industries, and departments.
• Industry-Academia Partnership: The mission will help promote Academia-Industry partnership in carrying out development activities for national development.

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Navigating Challenges: Ensuring Success and Safety in Gaganyaan Mission

• Human Survival Technologies: ISRO will have to develop all the technologies required for human survival from scratch, making it time consuming.
• Human Training: Due to lack of adequate facilities in India, astronauts shortlisted for the Gaganyaan mission have been trained overseas.
• Cost Effectiveness: The mission must not just be successful, but it must also be cost-effective. Developing low cost but highly effective technology is challenging.
• Human Safety: Safely escorting human astronauts back to Earth will be the biggest challenge going forward. 
  • Apart from that, the long term impact of space conditions on the human body cannot be ignored.

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Path to Success: Ensuring Precision and Excellence in Gaganyaan Mission

• Meticulous Testing: All the technologies used in the mission will be tested meticulously to prevent any sort of problems during the course of the mission.
• Best Practices: ISRO will adopt the best global practices while executing the mission. This includes close consultation with the Russian space agency.
• High Quality Training: Potential astronauts are being provided high quality training for them to overcome any physical or mental challenges.

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Conclusion:

• Gaganyaan mission may not be much significant on the international stage but its success can be a morale booster for our scientific community. The success of the mission will pave the way for development of the space tourism sector in the country.

Comprehensive Overview of ISRO: Indian Space and Research Organisation 

• About: ISRO is the premier space agency of India. 
  • It works as a primary research and development arm of the Department of Space, overseen by the Prime Minister of India.
• Foundation: It was founded in 1969 and its headquarters is located in Bengaluru. 
  • It replaced INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research), which was established in 1962.
• Objective: To develop and harness space technology in national development, while pursuing planetary exploration and space science research.

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• Achievements:
  • First Satellite: ISRO built its first satellite Aryabhatta in 1975 and launched with the help of the Soviet Union on April 19, 1975. 
    • Rohini was the first satellite to be successfully placed in the orbit by SLV-3, an Indian made launch vehicle.
  • Cryogenic Technology: ISRO became only one of the six countries in the world to possess cryogenic technology when it launched GSAT-14 satellite using GSLV-D5 launch vehicle.
  • Regional Satellite Navigation: ISRO operates India’s indigenous regional navigation system known as NAVIC, making it one among a select group of countries.