Before Gaganyaan mission announcement in August 2018, human spaceflight was not the priority for ISRO, though most of the required capability for it had been realised.[6] ISRO has already developed most of the technologies for crewed flight and it performed a Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment and a Pad Abort Test for the mission.[7] The project will cost less than Rs. 10,000 crore.[8][9] In December 2018, the government approved further ₹ 100 billion (US$1.5 billion) for a 7-days crewed flight of 3 astronauts to take place in December 2021,[3][10] later delayed to 2023.[11]
If completed on schedule, India will become world's fourth nation to conduct independent human spaceflight after the Soviet Union/Russia, United States and People's Republic of China. As part of an integrated lunar exploration and outer space strategy, the agency plans to continue working on the Bharatiya Antariksha Station program, future crewed lunar landings, and moonbase habitat after completing crewed spaceflights.[12][13]
The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) has worked on the space food for crewed spaceflight and has been conducting trials on G-suit for astronauts as well.[15][16] A prototype 'Advanced Crew Escape Suit' weighing 13 kg was built by Sure Safety (India) Limited based on ISRO's requirements has been tested and performance verified.[17][18][19][20]
On 28 December 2018, the Indian Union cabinet approved the funding for Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO's) human spaceflight programme, under which a three-member crew will be sent to space for seven days and is expected to cost Rs 9,023 crore. The testing phase is expected to begin from 2022[21] and the mission will be undertaken by 2023.[22][11]
Michael Clark talks about India's Human Spaceflight Programme and the rockets that will enable them.
The first phase of this programme is to develop and fly the 3.7-ton spaceship called Gaganyaan that will carry a 3-member crew to low Earth orbit and safely return to Earth after a mission duration of a few orbits to two days. The first uncrewed launch is planned for 2022.[21] The extendable version of the spaceship will allow flights up to seven days, rendezvous and docking capability.
Enhancements in spacecraft will lead to development of a space habitat allowing spaceflight duration of 30–40 days at once in next phase. Further advances from experience will subsequently lead to development of a space station.[24]
On 7 October 2016, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director K. Sivan stated that ISRO was gearing up to conduct a critical 'crew bailout test' called ISRO Pad Abort Test to see how fast and effectively the crew module could be released safely in the event of an emergency. The tests were conducted successfully on 5 July 2018 at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. This was the first test in a series of tests to qualify a crew escape system technology.[25][7]
India will not use any animals for life support systems testing but robots resembling humans will be used.[26][27] ISRO is targeting more than 99.8% reliability for its crew escape system.[28]
As of August 2018, ISRO plans to launch its crewed orbiter Gaganyaan atop a LVM3 rocket.[3][4][8][9] About 16 minutes after lift-off, the rocket will inject the orbital vehicle into an orbit 300 to 400 km above Earth. The capsule would return for a splashdown in the Arabian Sea near the Gujarat coastline.[29] As of May 2019, design of crew module has been completed.[30] The spacecraft will be flown twice uncrewed for validation before conducting actual human spaceflight.[23]
Infrastructure development
Human-Rating of LVM3
Human-rating rates the system is capable of safely transporting humans. ISRO will be building and launching 2 missions to validate the human rating of LVM3.[31] Existing launch facilities will be upgraded to enable them to carry out launches under Indian Human Spaceflight campaign.[32][33]
Escape System
The escape system will boast of a recently included geometry. Work on parachute enlargement and new architecture are also going on.[31][34]
Astronaut training
Training for Gaganyaan programme
ISRO Chairman, K. Sivan, announced in January 2019 the creation of India's Human Space Flight Centre in Bangalore for training astronauts, also called vyomanauts (vyoma means 'Space' or 'Sky' in Sanskrit).[35] The ₹1,000 crore (US$125.2 million) centre will train the selected astronauts in rescue and recovery operations, operate in zero gravity environment, and monitoring of the radiation environment.
In spring 2009 a full-scale mock-up of the crew capsule was built and delivered to Satish Dhawan Space Centre for training of astronauts. India will be short listing 200 Indian Air Force pilots for this purpose. The selection process would begin by the candidates having to complete an ISRO questionnaire, after which they would be subjected to physical and psychological analyses. Only 4 of the 200 applicants will be selected for the first space mission training. While two will fly, two shall act as reserve.[36][37]
ISRO signed a memorandum of understanding in 2009 with the Indian Air Force's Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) to conduct preliminary research on psychological and physiological needs of crew and development of training facilities.[38][39] ISRO is also discussing an agreement with Russia regarding some aspects of astronaut training.[40][41]
Human Space Flight Centre and Glavcosmos, which is a subsidiary of the Russian state corporation Roscosmos, signed an agreement on 1 July 2019 for cooperation in the selection, support, medical examination and space training of Indian astronauts.[42] An ISRO Technical Liaison Unit (ITLU) will be set up in Moscow to facilitate the development of some key technologies and establishment of special facilities which are essential to support life in space.[43]
As of January 2020, 4 crews have been selected for the mission with astronaut training scheduled to begin in third week of January.
During his Visit to India in November 2023, NASA administratorBill Nelson expressed support to India And indicated its readiness to support India's goal of building a commercial space station by 2040 if India seeks such collaboration. This potential partnership could leverage the expertise and experience of both countries, fostering innovation and advancing human presence in space between the two Artemis accords signatories .[44][45] Regarding the Indian Proposal of launching an Indian Astronaut to the ISS discussed during a previous State Visit, he said [46][47]
Another such facility is proposed to be constructed in Challakere under a ₹2,700 crore (equivalent to ₹32 billion or US$400 million in 2023) plan. It will be a facility spanning 400 acres (1.6 km2) and will be the primary facility for astronaut training and other related activities. As of January 2020, it is planned to be completed in 3 years. Once completed, all activities related to the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme will be undertaken there.[49][50][51]
Experiments and objectives
On 7 November 2018, ISRO released an Announcement of Opportunity seeking proposals from the Indian science community for microgravity experiments that could be carried out during the first two robotic flights of Gaganyaan.[52][53] The scope of the experiments is not restricted, and other relevant ideas will be entertained. The proposed orbit for microgravity platform is expected to be in an Earth-bound orbit at approximately 400 km altitude. All the proposed internal and external experimental payloads will undergo thermal, vacuum and radiation tests under required temperature and pressure conditions. To carry out microgravity experiments for long duration, a satellite may be placed in orbit.
^"India's human space programme gets a fillip". Retrieved 11 January 2019. Initially, the plan was the construct a new launch pad for the human space flight, but Sivan told the Express that due to paucity of time one of the two existing launch pads is being modified to meet the requirement.
^"Question number 1733 in Rajya Sabha"(PDF). Retrieved 11 January 2019. It is proposed to utilise the existing launch pad with augmentation for carrying out the initial flights under the Gaganyaan manned space flight programme.[permanent dead link]
