Indian Government Announces Gaganyaan Mission Update: 'ISRO Astronaut to Travel to ISS'

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Jitendra Singh provided an update on the highly anticipated Gaganyaan mission during a speech in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He mentioned that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a joint mission with NASA to the International Space Station (ISS).

In a written reply, Singh stated that one Gaganyaan astronaut from ISRO would travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a joint mission. He explained that this mission is a collaborative effort involving ISRO, NASA, and a private entity identified by NASA, Axiom Space.

Singh also mentioned that ISRO recently signed a Space Flight Agreement with Axiom Space for this joint mission to the ISS.

MLA Saugata Roy asked a question in the Lok Sabha about the "Axiom-4 Mission." According to NASA, they and Axiom Space have signed an agreement for the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. This mission is planned to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a target date no earlier than August 2024.

Singh mentioned that four astronauts, selected from a group of test pilots from the Indian Air Force, have been chosen for the Gaganyaan mission. He added that these astronauts are currently undergoing training at ISRO's Astronauts Training Facility (ATF) in Bengaluru in preparation for the mission.

All four astronauts were previously trained on the basics of spaceflight in Russia. The minister provided an update, stating that two out of three semesters of their training program have been completed.

He also mentioned that an Independent Training Simulator and Static Mockup Simulators have been set up for their training.

The Gaganyaan project aims to demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities by sending a crew of three astronauts into orbit at an altitude of 400 km for a 3-day mission. The mission plans to safely return the crew to Earth, with a landing in Indian waters.

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