Gaganyaan is ISRO’s mission aimed at sending Indian astronauts to low-Earth orbit using an indigenous launch vehicle. This initiative represents India’s inaugural human spaceflight mission, which seeks to demonstrate crucial technologies necessary for human space exploration. The mission highlights India's emerging capabilities in this domain, aligning with ambitious future goals, such as launching a homegrown space station by 2035 and landing an Indian on the moon by 2040.
ISRO has set several primary objectives for Gaganyaan. These include testing and demonstrating essential technologies for human spaceflight, such as environmental control, life-support systems, and ensuring safe re-entry and recovery of the crew module. The mission is designed to establish India’s independence in conducting human space missions.
A crewed flight is deemed technologically ambitious due to the intricate challenges involved in ensuring human safety in space. It necessitates the development of reliable life-support systems, robust spacecraft components, and mastering the technology required for safe re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Additionally, executing precise landing operations requires human-rating spacecraft systems to comply with rigorous safety standards.
Prior to the crewed mission, ISRO has planned two critical test flights. These tests aim to validate the mission’s key technologies, including the launch vehicle, orbital module, and life-support systems, ensuring that all components function as intended under the demanding conditions of spaceflight.
The Gaganyaan mission consists of several key components, including the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3) for launching, an 8.2-tonne orbital module housing both the crew module and the service module, and a crew composed of Indian Air Force (IAF) astronauts. The crew module is specifically designed to ensure the habitation and safety of the astronauts, while the service module contains the propulsion system necessary for the mission.
ISRO is actively preparing for Gaganyaan by conducting a series of tests and missions, such as the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) and the Crew-module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE). These initiatives are aimed at developing and validating the technologies required for the mission. Additionally, ISRO is human-rating spacecraft systems and developing critical components like the environmental control and life-support system (ECLSS) in-house, due to challenges associated with sourcing them from abroad.
The successful execution of Gaganyaan will mark a significant milestone for India by establishing self-sufficiency in sending humans to space, thereby reducing dependence on foreign launch services. This mission will elevate India’s status within the global space community, contributing to various scientific, commercial, and exploratory missions in space. Furthermore, it is part of broader initiatives that include policy reforms and support for space startups, aimed at securing India's position in the evolving space race.
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