ISRO GANGAYAAN
INDIAN FIRST HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT PROGRAM
The main objective of this mission is to create a spaceship,
called Gangayaan, that will carry three humans to the low earth orbit and then
return back to the planet after a duration of about seven days.
INDIAN FIRST HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT PROGRAM
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. 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. The project will
cost less than Rs. 10,000 crore.Vn December 2018, the government approved
further ₹ 100 billion for a 7-days crewed flight of 3
astronauts to take place in December, 2021.
This mission requires some primary distinctive features to
be developed by ISRO like the proficiency to bring the spacecraft back to the
earth after the completion of the mission, and to build the spacecraft with
such expertise that astronauts can have the same atmosphere as on the earth
even in space. Over the years, the space agency has been successful in
developing some of these technologies, but many others are still to be
developed and tested.
FLIGHT SCHEDULE
TEST TYPE
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PROPOSED MONTHE & YEAR
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CREW
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TEST FIGHT 1
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TEST FIGHT 2
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CREWED
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SPECIFICATION
S.NO
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TYPES
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STATUS
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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History
Preliminary studies and technological development of
Gaganyaan started in 2006 under the generic name "Orbital Vehicle".
The plan was to design a simple capsule similar to the Mercury-class spacecraft
with an endurance of about a week in space. It was designed to carry two
astronauts and to splashdown after re-entry. Gaganyaan is a fully autonomous 3.7-tonne spacecraft
designed to carry a 3-member crew to orbit and safely return to the Earth after
a mission duration of few orbits and up to seven days. Its service module is
powered by two liquid propellant engines. The crew module is mated to the
service module, and together they are called the orbital module. Based on the
payload capability of the GSLV-III booster, the service module would have a
mass of about 3 tonnes.
The design was finalized by March
2008 and was submitted to the Government of India for funding. The funding for
the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme was sanctioned in February 2009, but
it fell short of full political support and it obtained limited developmental
funding. Initially, the first uncrewed flight of the orbital vehicle was
proposed to be in 2013, then it was revised to 2016. However, in
April 2012 it was reported that funding problems placed the future of the
project in serious doubt; and in August 2013 it was announced that all
crewed spaceflight efforts by India had been designated as being 'off ISRO's
priority list'. By early 2014 the project was reconsidered and was one of
the main beneficiaries of a substantial budget increase announced in February
2014. ISRO is developing the Gaganyaan orbital vehicle on the tests
performed with their scaled 550 kg Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE),
which was launched and recovered in January 2007. The space capsule will have life support and environmental
control systems. It will be equipped with emergency mission abort and emergency
escape that can be done at the first stage or second stage of the rocket
burn. The nose of the original version of the orbital vehicle was free for
a docking mechanism, but primary entry was evidently through a side hatch
secured by explosive bolts.
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