It has been a successful and proud year for India considering its multiple space missions, one after another, starting with Chandryaan-3 landing on August 23 to the recent one, the successful test flight for Gaganyaan Mission
The Gaganyaan mission is the first Indian mission where humans will be sent to space. It includes sending a crew of three members into an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and bringing them safely back to earth by landing in Indian waters. It is being preceded by two unmanned flights - the first one sent on October 21
Led by ISRO Chief S Somnath, the first manned flight of the Gaganyaan Mission is expected to take off in 2025. In one of his interviews, S Somnath hinted at including some women fighter test pilots. He said, "Right now, the initial candidates are to be from Air Force fighter test pilots. "They are a bit different category. Right now, we are not having women fighter test pilots. So, once they come, that is one route"
Sreedhara Panicker Somanath is an Indian aerospace engineer serving as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). A post-graduate in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, S Somanath started his professional journey at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. He worked on PSLV 1 project. Under his leadership, India became the first nation to do a soft landing on the Moon's South Pole as part of the Chandrayan-3 mission
S. Unnikrishnan Nair is an Indian aerospace engineer and is currently working as the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). He is known for his work in the field of launch vehicle design, Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE), and Human Spaceflight Programme. He was earlier the Director of Human Space Flight Centre, Bengaluru. He is also the additional Director, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology
In an interview with India Today, S. Unnikrishnan Nair said that the Gaganyaan test vehicle could potentially be used for space tourism. The vehicle can carry a crew module to an altitude of 100 km and then return to Earth.
The woman Indian scientist VR Lalithambika is the third person behind India's ambitious space mission - Gaganyaan. She has been working with ISRO for a long time and is leading the Gaganyaan mission as the Director of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme
VR Lalithambika is a specialist in Advanced Launcher Technologies and has been part of more than 100 space missions including Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). Before moving to ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru, she was the Deputy Director (control, guidance and simulation) at VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram
This successful test launch stands as a remarkable stride toward fulfilling India's aspiration of sending its first astronauts into space. ISRO is now aiming to have astronauts in space by 2025 and to set sights on the Moon by 2040, marking an exciting phase in India's space exploration journey