The first manned flight of India’s Gaganyaan spacecraft will not take place before the first quarter of 2027. This was revealed in a recent statement by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
The Gaganyaan spacecraft project was initiated back in 2006. However, due to lack of funding, its full-fledged development began in 2014. The spacecraft is designed for flights to low-Earth orbit. It can accommodate up to three people on board.
The first manned Gaganyaan mission was originally announced back in late 2020. But due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and various technical problems, that date has been changed several times. The flight was first rescheduled to 2024, then to 2026, and now to early 2027.
The manned Gaganyaan mission will be preceded by several unmanned orbital tests. According to a recent ISRO announcement, the first of these will take place as early as this year. During the mission, designated G1, the spacecraft will make several orbits around the Earth before landing in the Bay of Bengal. A humanoid robot named Vyommitra will be aboard the Gaganyaan, designed to test the technology. This flight is to be followed by two more unmanned tests. If they go well, Gaganyaan will fly into space with a crew for the first time, and India will become the fourth country in history to send humans into space on its own.
India has already selected four pilots to be part of the first Gaganyaan crews. One of them, test pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, is scheduled to travel to space on Crew Dragon this month. He has been assigned to pilot a private Ax-4 mission that will dock with the ISS, spend several weeks aboard it, and then return to Earth. It is highly likely that it will be Shulka who will command the first manned Gaganyaan mission.
You can learn more about the history of India’s space program and its successes in our article.
According to Phys.org
