Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-3 to Lift Off in 2022-23; India Aims to Set Up Space Station By 2030 | The Weather Channel – Articles from The Weather Channel…

On August 15, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India's plans to launch its first human space mission, Gaganyaan, by 2022. But, last year, the COVID-19 pandemic derailed the initial goals of a timely launch of uncrewed and crewed spaceflights under the mission. Now, as we eagerly await the launch, here's an update on what to expect from the mission and the future of India in the space frontier.

Last week, Union Space Minister Jitendra Singh, during the Rajya Sabha meeting, stated that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the final crewed mission in 2023. The first two stages, i.e. the test vehicle and the uncrewed mission, will carry Vyommitra, a spacefaring humanoid robot developed by ISRO.

The minister confirmed that the first uncrewed space flight as part of India's Rs 9,023 crore human spaceflight mission 'Gaganyaan' is slated for the second half of 2022.

Additionally, the Venus mission, L-1 Aditya solar and Chandrayaan-3 missions are also estimated for launch in 2022-2023. Singh also confirmed that Chandrayaan-3 is in the advanced stage of realisation. All the Propulsion Module and Rover Module systems have been realised, integrated, and tested. In the Lander Module, most of the systems have been realised, and tests are underway.

All the identified tests will be completed before the launch of Chandrayaan-3, he said.

Chandrayaan-3 is targeted to be launched in the second quarter of the financial year 2022-2023.

Moreover, the union space minister also set a timeline for Indias first-ever space station. He announced that by 2030, we would, possibly, be able to set up a space station, which would be unique of its kind.

A space station is a habitable artificial satellite in the Earths lower orbit. At present, only the International Space Stationa collaborative project of the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canadaand the recently launched Tiangong Space Station of China are operational.

Though the COVID restrictions delayed the main programme, the preparations have begun vigorously, including aeromedical training and flying practice for astronauts. An astronaut training facility is also being established in Bengaluru. Even the ground qualification tests of human-rated launch vehicle propulsion stages have progressed successfully.

"The configuration and design of ground infrastructure have been completed, and modifications needed are being implemented. The MoU, contracts and Implementation arrangement (IA) related activities with both national and international agencies are progressing well," Singh said.

To keep the buzz going, ISRO recently sponsored 500 young minds to assemble Gaganyaan's functional rocket model to create a Guinness World Record. More than 500 industries are reportedly involved in the overall Gaganyaan mission.

The objective of the Gaganyaan programme is to demonstrate the capability to send humans to low earth orbit (LEO) onboard an Indian rocket and bring them back to earth safely.

The final stage of the mission will send three astronauts into the low-earth orbit of 300-400 km to stay for a week. If successful, Gaganyaan will make India the world's fourth country, after the USA, China and the Soviet Union (now Russia), to successfully place a human in space.

(With inputs from IANS and the Times of India)

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