NEW DELHI – The government of India is all set to send a three-person crew to space for a period of seven days by 2022, in a visible attempt to consolidate its power on the space frontiers as well.
The official announcement in this regard was made by premier Narendra Modi on the eve of Independence this year, however, further details have been revealed about the space bid now.
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV III) would be used for the launch of Gaganyaan and two unmanned space missions would precede the launch.
In his independence day speech, Modi said when India celebrates 75th year of Independence in 2022, “and if possible even before, an Indian son or daughter” will undertake a manned space mission on board ‘Gaganyaan’ “carrying the national flag”. Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first lunar probe.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be overseeing the project that is estimated to cost less than Rs. 10,000 crore.
According to ISRO Chairman Dr Sivan, several technologies are already developed and the organization is confident about doing it before 76th Independence Day.
The spacecraft will be placed in a low earth orbit of 300-400km, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State, said the mission is very cost effective even by Indian standards as other countries missions have been very expensive.
If Indian mission becomes successful, it will become the fourth nation after the USA, Russia and China, to send a human to space.
Another interesting fact is that the Indian spacecraft would be smaller than the current Russian Soyuz, Chinese Shenzhou, NASA’s planned Orion spacecraft, or past Apollo capsules, but slightly larger than the past US Gemini Spacecraft.
