Gaganyaan Mission: India's Bold and Ambitious Mission | UPSC | Launch Date

 India's first manned space mission Gaganyaan 2023

Gaganyaan: India's first manned space mission, India is preparing to launch its first manned space mission, Gaganyaan, by 2024. The mission will send three Indian astronauts into Earth orbit for up to seven days in a spacecraft designed and built by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The mission will demonstrate India's human spaceflight capabilities and contribute to scientific research in space.

What is Gaganyaan?

A gaganyaan (Sanskrit: gagana ("heaven") and yāna ("vehicle")) is a manned orbital spacecraft that can carry three people and provide life support systems. The spacecraft consists of two parts: an orbital module and a service module. The orbital module is the part that accommodates the astronauts, and the service module is the part that provides functions such as power and propulsion.

The spacecraft will have a diameter of 3.5 meters, a height of 3.58 meters, and a mass of 8.2 tons. The spacecraft will be launched by a rocket called GSLV Mk III, which is India's most powerful rocket and is used for launching heavy satellites and exploring the moon. The rocket will carry the spacecraft into low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 400 kilometers (400 kilometers), where it will remain for several days before re-entering the atmosphere. The spacecraft will then deploy its parachute and land in the Bay of Bengal, where it will be recovered by a ship.

What is the purpose of Gaganyaan?

The main purpose of Gaganyaan is to demonstrate India's ability to send people into space and return them safely. This mission will also strengthen India's scientific and technological capabilities in space exploration and inspire future generations of space enthusiasts. The mission will also carry out experiments in various fields such as biology, physics and astronomy to understand the effects of microgravity on human health and other phenomena.

What are the milestones of Gaganyaan?

Gaganyaan Mission was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 and the original goal was to launch the first manned mission by 2022. However, the schedule has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges. ISRO currently plans to launch two unmanned missions from Gaganyaan before sending its first manned mission by 2024.

The first unmanned mission is expected to take place in late 2023 or early 2024. Test the performance of spacecraft systems such as: Examples: thermal protection, navigation, guidance, control, recovery. A second unmanned mission will take place in a few months, testing a crew evacuation system intended to save astronauts in the event of an emergency during takeoff or ascent.

The first crewed mission will be carried out by 2024 and will be crewed by three Indian astronauts selected from the Indian Air Force's test pilots. The astronauts have been training at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center since February 2020. They are also being trained at his ISRO facility in India.

Who is Gaganyaan's partner?

ISRO collaborates with various national and international institutions for technical assistance and knowledge sharing to Gaganyaan. These institutions include:

• The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is developing critical human-focused projects such as space food, crew health care, radiation measurement and protection, parachutes for safe recovery of crew modules, and firefighting systems. We provide comprehensive system and technology support.

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactures crew modules and other components for spacecraft. •NASA, ESA and Roscosmos will share their experience and expertise in human spaceflight with his ISRO.

• French CNES. Provide training and medical support for astronauts during water landing operations.

• JAXA in Japan. He will collaborate with ISRO in lunar exploration and other areas.