The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has chosen not to rush the ‘Gaganyaan’ project to ensure it is a ‘sure shot safe mission’, said its chairman S Somanath on June 8. The ‘Gaganyaan’ is a manned space mission aiming to demonstrate human spaceflight capability to Low Earth Orbit and safe return.
Somanath said that the Gaganyaan project was scheduled to launch last year in 2022, but it got delayed due to the pandemic while speaking to the media during the international conference on Spacecraft Mission Operations (SMOPS-2023).
He further said, “We have a different thinking now. Our thinking is like this that we don’t want to rush. That decision we have taken. The primary objective of the human space flight is a sure shot safe mission.” ISRO is designing the mission to succeed in the first attempt. Recently, the mission has significantly improved during the testing and demonstration exercises. He explained that additional abort missions are included in these training exercises to make sure the crew is safe.
The first exercise was initially scheduled for July, which will probably occur in August this year, said Somanath. While confirming the possibility of an unmanned mission next year, he said, “…Two abort missions have to take place this year followed by an unmanned mission possibly by the beginning of next year”.
The ISRO chairman stated that the space agency had completed all engine test programmes. He said that every week some significant tests are happening for the success of the Gaganyaan project. He said, “For me, eight major tests are there, and if all the tests successfully happen without any glitch, the launch will between 2024 and 2025 time frame. But if I face problems and challenges, which are natural in this process, I have to discount for the schedule.”
During the conference, Somanath discussed the launch window of India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1. The launch window is from this August to January, next year. He said, “If we cannot launch it in August, then we will go to January next year.”
The ISRO chairman also talked about ISRO’s third moon mission Chandrayaan-3, which is scheduled to be launched in mid-July. He added, “We are going in the same path of Chandrayaan-2 because we have already done that. We have experience to do it in that manner, but it all depends on various other factors whether there are any other contingency conditions.”
The Indian Navy and ISRO released a recovery training plan for the crew of the manned space mission on May 24 for the Gaganyaan project. The Gaganyaan Recovery Training Plan will be crucial for the crew to ensure their safety during the manned space mission, which will likely occur next year.
The training document was jointly released by Vice Admiral Atul Anand, Director General of Naval Operations, Dr Unnikrishnan Nair, Director Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and Dr Umamaheshwaran R, Director, Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) of ISRO at Water Survival Training Facility (WSTF) INS Garuda in Kochi, Kerala. The document outlines the training plan for recovery of the Crew Module of the mission. It describes the overall requirements and training of various teams participating in recovery operations, including Divers, MARCOs, Medical Specialists, Communicators, Technicians & Naval Aviators.
The Recovery training is planned in incremental phases, from unmanned recovery to manned recovery training in the harbour and open sea conditions. The mass and shape simulated mockup will familiarise and train Gaganyaan recovery teams. The Indian Navy will also assist ISRO by undertaking a series of trials to fine-tune the Standard Operating Procedures for training the crew and recovery teams of Gaganyaan.
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