Gaganyaan: Four astronauts named for India's first manned space mission

Gaganyaan mission:The Indian space agency is in full swing to achieve another milestone in its space endeavours, with the launch of the Gaganyaan mission, slated for launch in 2024. The preparation for India’s first manned mission has been going on for years, with the mission’s preliminary studies starting back in 2006.

The Gaganyaan, literally meaning ‘celestial vehicle’ will carry four people to an orbit of 400 km on a 3-day mission and bring them back safely to Earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.

On Tuesday (Feb 27), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram and announced the names of four Indian astronauts chosen for this unique mission.

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Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla are selected for the manned Gaganyaan mission.

Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair hails from Nenmara town of Kerala and joined the Indian Air Force in 1999. He received the prestigious Sword of Honour in 1998, which is given to the best-performing cadet during his training. He was also the first rank holder at the United States Air Force Air Command and Staff College.

PM Modi conferred the 'astronaut wings' upon the designated astronauts. He alsogave a standing ovation to the four astronauts and said, "We are witnessing another historic journey at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. India meets its four Gaganyaan astronauts. These are not just four names, but forces that will take the aspirations of 140 crore Indians to space."

Crew training for the mission

To train astronauts for the manned mission, ISRO set up an Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru which includes classroom training, physical fitness training, simulator training and flight suit training.

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"Training modules cover academic courses, Gaganyaan Flight Systems, Micro-gravity familiarization through Parabolic Flights, Aero-medical training, Recovery & Survival training, mastering of Flight Procedures and training on Crew Training Simulators. Aeromedical training, Periodical flying practice and Yoga are also included as part of the training," as per ISRO's blog.

Apart from this, the Indian AirForce has also been working closely with ISRO on the Gaganyaan mission. In the past, the IAF also teased a fitness training video of the four IAF pilots selected for the Gaganyaan mission.

Gaganyaan mission

Gaganyaan mission aims to carry a crew of four astronauts into low Earth orbit. This endeavour will make India the fourth nation in the world, after the United States, Russia, and China, to independently send humans into space.

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The well-known Indian LVM3 rocket, which was used for the launch of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, will be the launch vehicle for the Gaganyaan mission. It will consist of solid stage, liquid stage and cryogenic stage.

All systems in the LVM3 launch vehicle are reconfigured especially for the Gaganyaan mission to meet human being requirements and given the new name of Human Rated LVM3. HLVM3 will be capable of launching the Orbital Module to an intended Low Earth Orbit of 400 km, as per ISRO.

(With inputs from agencies)