Today, a top official informed Press Trust of India that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) would begin a series of test flights for India’s first human space travel mission in February of next year.
According to R Umamaheshwaran, Director of ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre, the space agency also plans to deploy the heavy-lift Chinook helicopter and the C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft for testing the crew module, which will carry astronauts into orbit for three days as part of the Gaganyaan human space flight mission.
Speaking at the India Space Congress in New Delhi, he said that ISRO scientists have finished designing the Environment Control System, guaranteeing that astronauts’ living conditions in the crew service module are comfortable while in orbit.
Before an unmanned space launch in December of the following year, ISRO plans to conduct at least 17 separate tests.
In his Independence Day speech in 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Gaganyaan Mission, intending to complete it by 2022, when the nation has completed 75 years of independence from colonial domination.
The Covid epidemic, however, caused several delays. It is now anticipated that the first Indian astronauts will make their first space mission by the end of 2024 or 2025.
The work of constructing the crew module and climate control system, according to Mr. Umamaheshwaran, was difficult since the astronauts had to remain comfortable even during the re-entry phase when the exterior temperature of the spacecraft might reach over 2000 degrees Celsius.
The fabrication work on the crew module, where the astronauts will sit and fly, is complete. We will receive the crew module within six months,” he stated outside the SatCom Industry Association convention.
According to Mr. Umamaheshwaran, the atmosphere control system is a crucial component of the project since it creates comfortable living conditions for the crew module.
We must guarantee that there is no fire threat while supplying oxygen, removing carbon dioxide, removing humidity, and maintaining temperature. No nation would provide us with this highly intricate technology, he claimed.
According to the top scientist, it was chosen to construct the environment control system domestically.
“Since we have the capacity to create, we are now doing so, which simply requires a small amount of time. Now that the design work is complete, it’s time to demonstrate that the proposed solution is sufficiently secure. The entire endeavor is that, “explained Mr. Umamaheshwaran.
According to him, four applicants have already finished their first training in Russia and have been shortlisted to participate in the mission.
According to him, the astronauts who made the short list are receiving additional training at the Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru.
