Gaganyaan Mission

Gaganyaan Mission

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Indian pilots to return to Russia soon for stitching customized space suits.

Concept –

• Gaganyaan is a mission by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• Under the Gaganyaan schedule:
  • Three flights will be sent into orbit.
  • There will be two unmanned flights and one human spaceflight.
• The Gaganyaan system module, called the Orbital Module will have three Indian astronauts, including a woman.
• It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from earth for 5-7 days.
• Payloads:
  • Crew module –spacecraft carrying human beings.
  • Service module –powered by two liquid propellant engines.
  • It will be equipped with emergency escape and emergency mission abort.
• GSLV Mk III, also called the LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3,)the three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has the necessary payload capability.
• Training in Russia:
  • In June 2019, the Human Space Flight Centre of the ISRO and the Russian government-owned Glavkosmos signed a contract for the training, which includes Russian support in the selection of candidates, their medical examination, and space training.
  • The candidates will study in detail the systems of the Soyuz manned spaceship, as well as be trained in short-term weightlessness mode aboard the Il-76MDK aircraft.
    • The Soyuz is a Russian spacecraft. The Soyuz carries people and supplies to and from the space station.
    • The Il-76MDKis a military transport plane specially designed for parabolic flights of trainee astronauts and space tourists.