The necessary infrastructure for crew training, realisation of flight systems and ground infrastructure will be established to support the Gaganyaan Program

The Union Cabinet has approved Gaganyaan Program, whereby a made in India spacecraft will be sent to space by 2022 carrying three Indian astronauts who will spend seven days there, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced on Friday.

A human rated GSLV Mk-lll will be used to carry the orbital module which will have necessary provisions for sustaining a 3-member crew for the duration of the mission. The necessary infrastructure for crew training, realisation of flight systems and ground infrastructure will be established to support the Gaganyaan Program.

Here are the details of the mission

Expenditure

The total fund requirement for the Gaganyaan Program is within Rs.10,000 crore and includes cost of technology development, flight hardware realisation and essential infrastructure elements. Two unmanned flights and one manned flight will be undertaken as part the Program.

Benefits

*Gaganyaan Program will establish a broader framework for collaboration between ISRO, academia, industry, national agencies and other scientific organisations.

*This will allow pooling in of diverse technological and industrial capabilities and enable broader participation in research opportunities and technology development benefiting large number of students and researchers.

*The flight system realisation will be through Industry.

*It is expected to generate employment and train human resources in advanced technologies.

*It will inspire large number of young students to take up science and technology careers for national development.

Strategy And Targets

*ISRO will be responsible for realising the flight hardware through Industry.

*National agencies, laboratories and Academia will participate in crew training, human life science technology development initiatives as well as design reviews.

*First human space flight demonstration is targeted to be completed within 40 months from the date of sanction. Prior to this, two unmanned flights in full complement will be carried out to gain confidence on the technology and mission management aspects.

Impact

*The program is expected to spur research and development within the country in niche science and technology domains.

*Huge potential for technology spin-offs in areas such as medicine, agriculture, industrial safety, pollution, waste management, water and food resource management etc.

*Human spaceflight program will provide a unique micro-gravity platform in space for conducting experiments and test bed for future technologies.

*The program is expected to give impetus to economic activities within the country in terms of employment generation, human resource development and enhanced industrial capabilities.

*Human Spaceflight capability will enable India to participate as a collaborating partner in future Global space exploration initiatives with long term national benefits.

Background

ISRO has completed the development of launch vehicle GSLV Mk-lll which has the necessary payload capability to launch a 3-member crew module in low earth orbit. ISRO has also tested the crew escape system which is an essential technology for human space flight.

The aerodynamic characterisation of crew module has been completed as part of GSLV Mk-lll X mission flight. Elements of life support system and Space suit also have been realised and tested.

In addition, the orbital and re-entry mission and recovery operations have been flight demonstrated in Space Capsule Re-entry experiment (SRE) mission. ISRO has developed and demonstrated most of the baseline technologies essential for undertaking human spaceflight mission. Globally also, there is a renewed interest in undertaking manned exploration initiatives.

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