PM Modi meets the first group of astronauts chosen for the Gaganyaan Space Mission from India. On Monday, Gaganyaan Mission astronauts were unveiled to the world and given wings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The four Indian Air Force officers will be the first Indians to travel into space on an indigenous spacecraft from within their own country.
Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, Group Captain Ajith Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan are the four astronauts. Before astronauts aboard the crew capsule, Prime Minister Modi met with Vyomitra, a humanoid that will be the first to embark on the Gaganyaan Mission, and assessed the mission’s progress at the VSSC.
The goal of the Gaganyaan Mission is to place three astronauts in low Earth orbit. India will become the fourth country in the world to launch people into space on its own, following the US, China, and Russia.
To guarantee the mission’s safety and success, cutting-edge equipment is being created for the Gaganyaan Spaceship, which is intended to house the astronauts. Life support systems, communication systems, and other necessities for sustaining human life in space will be installed aboard the spaceship.
For the Gaganyaan expedition, astronauts were carefully chosen and received extensive training. To get ready for the rigours of space flight, the selected astronauts get extensive training in subjects including space navigation, survival techniques, and simulated space missions.
The Prime Minister was in Thiruvananthapuram visiting the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. He had never been to the Isro headquarters before. The prime minister also unveiled the names of the Gaganyaan astronauts and officially opened the Trisonic Wind Tunnel at the VSSC, the Semi-cryogenic Integrated Engine and Stage Test facility at Mahendragiri, and the PSLV Integration Facility.
The goal of the PSLV integration facility is to raise the annual number of PSLV launches from six to fifteen. According to the PMO, it is also intended to support the launch of mini-PSLVs, small satellite launch vehicles, and other tiny launch vehicles created by commercial space firms.
The current launch vehicles’ payload capacity will be increased by the development of semi-cryogenic engines and stages, which will be made possible by the new Semi-cryogenics Integrated Engine and Stage Test facility at IPRC Mahendragiri. The facility can test engines up to 200 tonnes of thrust thanks to its liquid oxygen and kerosene delivery systems.
