Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has marked its position in the world as one of the premier space agencies. Now it is all set to launch India’s first ever manned mission to space. The project is named as Gaganyaan, which means Orbital Vehicle.
Inside Gaganyaan 2022 – India’s First Manned Space Mission
This manned space mission is going to carry three Indians into the earth’s orbit. ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III, or GSLV Mk III, is going to be put to use to deploy them into space. This mission is set to take place in the year 2022, which means that is not many years left and we all should gear to see this mission take off. The astronauts will orbit around the earth for seven days. With this mission, India will be the fourth nation in the world to independently send humans to space, after Russia, US and China.
Gaganyaan project had originally started in 2006 under the name Orbital Vehicle. The plan was to design a simple capsule similar to the Mercury-class spacecraft with an endurance of about a week. It was designed to carry two astronauts and to splashdown after re-entry. The design was finalised by March 2008, but it fell short of full political support and it obtained limited developmental funding. In 2014, the project was reconsidered and was one of the main beneficiaries of a substantial budget increase announced in February 2014, and it has now been finally confirmed.
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The mission is a collaborative effort of many esteemed institutes. The crew model is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). For obvious reasons, the mission will have systems necessary for life support. They are provided by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). It will also provide the systems necessary for navigation, guidance and control systems. The space capsule will be equipped with emergency mission abort and emergency escape, that can be done at the first or second stage of the rocket burn.
It has also developed the safe crew ejection mechanism in case of rocket failure and has a space suit developed by Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL), which is a Bangalore-based company that focuses on research and development in the field of aeromedical equipment, human engineering related to aviation,aeromedical equipment, human engineering related to aviation, and is also a part of DRDO. This crew escape system is an emergency escape measure designed to quickly pull the crew module along with astronauts to a safe distance from the launch vehicle in case of a launch abort. About 16 minutes after liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), the rocket will inject the spacecraft into an orbit 300–400 km above Earth and the capsule would return for a splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.
India Collaborates With Russia For Gaganyaan
During a meeting between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Russia’s deputy prime minister for defence and space industry Yuriy Borisov, in Moscow in September 2018, both the countries discussed possible cooperation in life support systems, crew module and astronaut training for India’s Gaganyaan project. The two sides also signed an agreement on ‘joint activities in the field of human spaceflight programme’. The memorandum of understanding was signed between ISRO and the Federal Space Agency of Russia (ROSCOSMOS).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in a press statement, “Russia has always been with us in the development journey of India. The next goal in our space journey is to send an Indian astronaut in Gaganyaan. I am very happy that you have assured full cooperation of Russia in this mission”. The Indian Human Spaceflight Programme was accepted and formally announced by the Prime Minister on the Independence Day of 2018.
A Bright Future
Very recently, the Union Cabinet approved a budget of Rs. 10,000 crore for this manned programme, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had announced. Previously, the government had approved rupees 500 million during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.
Achievements in outer space missions mark a great power status. India wants to be a part of the elite group that has successfully sent humans in space. Sending humans to space is a very fascinating idea, but at the same time it is a very critical job. This mission is going to give India a glorious spot in the world.
