Under Gaganyaan, a three-member Indian crew will be launched into low earth orbit (LEO) for an orbital mission of up to a week

Nellore: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will be playing an important role in Gaganyaan, India’s first manned mission that is expected to be launched in 2022, the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. Under Gaganyaan, a three-member Indian crew will be launched into low earth orbit (LEO) for an orbital mission of up to a week.

Prior to this, two unmanned missions are planned to validate various technologies. The Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) had inked a pact with various labs of DRDO last month for joint development of human-centric systems for Rs 10,000 crore.

Speaking to this newspaper, DRDO chairman Dr G Sateesh Reddy said, “DRDO has developed various critical technologies for defence applications which will be customised to the requirement of human space flight.”