India has delayed the first manned launch of the national Gaganyaan spacecraft to 2026. This was announced by the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Sreedhara Panicker Somanath.
The Gaganyaan spacecraft project has been under development by India since 2006. It is designed for flights to low-Earth orbit. The spacecraft will be able to accommodate up to three people.
Initially, the first manned Gaganyaan mission was scheduled back in late 2020. But due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and various technical problems, this date was changed several times.
Now Gaganyaan’s first crewed flight has been postponed again: this time from late 2025 to 2026. According to Sreedhara Somanath, this comes both from the desire to maximize crew safety and the difficulty in developing the necessary technology. The ISRO head also cited the story of the unlucky Starliner spacecraft as an example and said he would not want something similar to happen to the Gaganyaan.
It is worth noting that ISRO has conducted a number of important tests on various components of Gaganyaan over the past few years, including the crew emergency rescue system. The organization is now actively preparing for its first unmanned orbital flight, which is scheduled for December this year. During the mission, designated G1, the spacecraft will make several loops around the Earth before landing in the Bay of Bengal. A humanoid robot named Vyomitra will be aboard the Gaganyaan, designed to test the technology.
This mission will be followed by three more unmanned flights to be completed by 2026. If tests identify no significant problems, Gaganyaan will fly with a crew for the first time in 2026, and India will become the fourth country in history to send humans into space independently.
Meanwhile, one of the four astronauts selected by ISRO as a candidate for the first Gaganyaan flight is undergoing training in the US. He is a test pilot of the Indian Air Force, Shubhanshu Shukla. He has been selected as the pilot of a private Ax-4 mission, which will go to the ISS in the spring of 2025. According to Commander Peggy Whitson, Shukla will assist with Crew Dragon spacecraft operations such as navigation and docking.
Earlier, we covered India’s other ambitious space projects that would be realized in the coming years.
Provided by Space.com
