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Gaganyaan-4

Gaganyaan-4
Rendering of Gaganyaan crewed spacecraft
NamesH1
Mission typeCrewed flight test
OperatorISRO
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftGaganyaan
ManufacturerHindustan Aeronautics Limited
Start of mission
Launch date2026
RocketHLVM3
Launch siteSatish Dhawan Space Centre
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit

Gaganyaan-4 (from Sanskrit: gagana, "celestial" and yāna, "craft, vehicle") will be the first crewed test flight of the Gaganyaan programme, with launch planned for 2026.

Mission

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The mission is planned to demonstrate human spaceflight capability by sending a crew to an orbit of 400 km of altitude[1][2][3] for 7 days.[4] Reporting in January 2020 for the Hindustan Times,[5] Anonna Dutt quotes K. Sivan, then chairman of ISRO, as saying,

We are designing the mission for three people to go to low earth orbit for seven days. However, whether we send two people or one person and whether they spend seven days in the orbit or one will be decided [after the] unmanned flights.

In October 2023, it was announced that the first crewed flight would take place after three uncrewed missions of the human-rated HLVM3.[6] The launch is planned for 2026[7] with the capsule coming down in the Indian Ocean.[8]

Crew

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Primary Crew

Position Launching Crew member Landing Crew member
Commander India Prasanth Nair, ISRO
First spaceflight 		India Prasanth Nair[9], ISRO
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer/ Spaceflight Participant India Ajit Krishnan, ISRO
First spaceflight 		India Ajit Krishnan[10], ISRO
First spaceflight

Backup crew

Position Crew member
Commander India Shubhanashu Shukla, ISRO
Spaceflight participant India Angad Prathap, ISRO
India's initial astronaut corps at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, from left: Shukla, Nair, Krishnan and Prathap

The Gaganyan programme astronauts, Prasanth Nair, Angad Pratap, Ajit Krishnan and Shubhanshu Shukla, were announced on 27 February 2024.[11] Those selected for the first spaceflight will be from this pool of qualified astronauts, and one of them will fly to the ISS in 2024.[12] Is considered that one or two crewmembers will take part of this mission.[3]

Spacecraft

[edit]
This paragraph is an excerpt from Gaganyaan.[edit]
Gaganyaan ([ɡəɡənəjɑːnə];pronunciationⓘ from Sanskrit: gagana, "celestial" and yāna, "craft, vehicle") is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft intended to be the formative spacecraft of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme. The spacecraft is being designed to carry three people, and a planned upgraded version will be equipped with rendezvous and docking capabilities. In its maiden crewed mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s largely autonomous 5.3-metric ton capsule will orbit the Earth at 400 km altitude for up to seven days with a two- or three-person crew on board. The first crewed mission was originally planned to be launched on ISRO's HLVM3 rocket in December 2021.[13][14] As of November 2024, it is expected to be launched no earlier than 2026.[15]

Launch vehicle

[edit]
Representation of Human Rated LVM3
This paragraph is an excerpt from LVM3.[edit]
The Launch Vehicle Mark-3 or LVM3[16][17][18] (previously referred as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III or GSLV Mk III)[a] is a three-stage[16] medium-lift launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Primarily designed to launch communication satellites into geostationary orbit,[20] it is also due to launch crewed missions under the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.[21] LVM3 has a higher payload capacity than its predecessor, GSLV.[22][23][24][25]

Background

[edit]
These paragraphs are an excerpt from Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.[edit]

The Indian Human Spaceflight program (or the Gaganyaan program) is an ongoing programme by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop the technology needed to launch crewed orbital spacecraft into low Earth orbit.[26] Three uncrewed flights, named Gaganyaan-1, Gaganyaan-2 and Gaganyaan-3 are scheduled to launch in 2024, followed by crewed flight in 2024 on an HLVM3 rocket.[27][28][29][30][31]

Before the Gaganyaan mission announcement in August 2018, human spaceflight was not a priority for ISRO, but it had been working on related technologies since 2007,[32] and it performed a Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment[33] and a Pad Abort Test for the mission.[34][35] In December 2018, the government approved a further ₹100 billion (US$1.5 billion) for a 7-days crewed flight of 2–3 astronauts.[36][37][38][39]

If completed successfully, India will become the fourth nation to conduct independent human spaceflight after the Soviet Union/Russia, United States, and China. After conducting the first crewed spaceflights, the agency intends to start a space station programme, crewed lunar landings, and crewed interplanetary missions in the long term.[40][41]

International collaboration

[edit]

ISRO, the Department of Space and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), together with Voyager Space, agreed to a memorandum of understanding to explore use of Gaganyaan for crew transportation to Voyager's planned Starlab space station.[42]

Gaganyaan-5

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Gaganyaan-5 (from Sanskrit: gagana, "celestial" and yāna, "craft, vehicle") will be the second crewed test flight of the Gaganyaan programme, with launch planned in 2026.[43][44][45]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Gaganyaan mission: PM Modi reveals 4 astronaut-designates selected to go to space. Check names here". The Economic Times. 2024-02-27. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  2. ^ Sankaran, Vishwam (2024-02-05). "India to fly 'woman robot' to space ahead of ambitious crewed mission". The Independent. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  3. ^ a b athira.pn. "'ആദ്യ ആളില്ലാ ഗഗൻയാൻ ദൗത്യം ഉടൻ, ഇന്ത്യൻ ബഹിരാകാശ നിലയത്തിന്റെ ഡിസൈൻ അവസാന ഘട്ടത്തിൽ': ഇസ്രൊ ചെയർമാൻ". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (in Malayalam). Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  4. ^ Kuthunur, Sharmila (2024-02-27). "India completes critical test for Gaganyaan flight crewed by humanoid robot later this year". space.com. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  5. ^ "India's first manned mission Gaganyaan may take 1 astronaut". Hindustan Times. 2020-01-08. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  6. ^ "Prime Minister reviews readiness of Gaganyaan Mission". pib.gov.in. 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  7. ^ FP Staff (2024-10-28). "India's Gaganyaan Mission delayed, won't be launched in 2025, announces ISRO". Firstpost. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  8. ^ "India announces four-member crew for 'Gaganyaan' space mission". Reuters. 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  9. ^ "Worldwide Space Launches". Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Worldwide Space Launches". Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  11. ^ Singh, Surendra (2024-02-27). "PM Modi introduces 4 Gaganyaan astronauts to world, says they 'will take dreams of 140cr Indians to space'". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  12. ^ Desk, Janam Web (2024-02-28). "Why were the names of Gaganyaan passengers revealed a year before its launch?". janamtv.com. Retrieved 2024-02-28. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ Singh, Surendra (29 December 2018). "Rs 10,000 crore plan to send 3 Indians to space by 2022". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  14. ^ PTI (15 August 2018). "Gaganyaan mission to take Indian astronaut to space by 2022: PM Modi". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  15. ^ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/human-spaceflight/india-delays-its-1st-ever-gaganyaan-astronaut-launch-to-2026
  16. ^ a b "LVM3". Indian Space Research Organisation. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  17. ^ "ISRO GSLV Mark-III renamed as LVM-3". HT Tech. 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  18. ^ a b "ISRO renames GSLV Mark-III as LVM-3". The Hindu. 2022-10-23.
  19. ^ "As it happened: ISRO successfully launches GSLV Mark-III". The Hindu. 17 December 2014. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  20. ^ "'India masters rocket science': Here's why the new ISRO launch is special". 15 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Two international astronauts survive space scare. How well is India prepared?". 18 October 2018.
  22. ^ "Indian Space Research Organisation preparing for three more PSLV launches". The Hindu. 29 April 2011. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  23. ^ Ramachandran, R. (22 January 2014). "GSLV MkIII, the next milestone". Frontline. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  24. ^ Sengupta, Rudraneil (5 June 2017). "Cryogenic rocket engine has been developed from scratch: Isro chief". LiveMint. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  25. ^ "India launches 'monster' rocket". BBC News. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Gaganyan: How to send an Indian into space". 16 August 2018.
  27. ^ "Prime Minister reviews readiness of Gaganyaan Mission".
  28. ^ "Gaganyaan launch delayed: Manned mission now in 'fourth quarter of 2024'". Times of India. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  29. ^ Ramesh, Sandhya (4 December 2022). "India's first human spaceflight Gaganyan in limbo, astronauts partially trained, ISRO silent". ThePrint. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  30. ^ Kumar, Chethan (22 July 2021). "Gaganyaan 1st uncrewed mission unlikely before June 2022; no life support systems testing". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  31. ^ "First human-rated test flight for India's Gaganyaan not likely in 2021". The Tribune. 1 July 2021. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  32. ^ "Eleventh Five year Plan (2007–12) proposals for Indian space programme" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  33. ^ "Crew module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) - ISRO". Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  34. ^ "Satellites Are Our Priority Now, Not Human Space Flight". Outlook. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  35. ^ "ISRO's first 'pad abort' test, critical for future human space mission, successful". The Hindu. 5 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Indian Astronaut Will Be in Space For 7 Days, Confirms ISRO Chairman".
  37. ^ Singh, Surendra (29 December 2018). "Rs 10,000 crore plan to send 3 Indians to space by 2022". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  38. ^ Indians To Spend 7 Days In Space In Rs. 10,000 Crore Gaganyaan Plan: 10 Points, NDTV, 28 December 2018.
  39. ^ Suresh, Haripriya (15 August 2018). "JFK in 1961, Modi in 2018: PM announces 'Indian in space by 2022,' but is ISRO ready?". The News Minute.
  40. ^ "India eying an indigenous station in space". The Hindu Business Line. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  41. ^ Dutt, Anonna (2020-09-18). "Gaganyaan mission: Astronauts to undergo Isro module next year". New Delhi. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  42. ^ Klotz, Irene (July 10, 2023). "Voyager Looks To India For Crew Flight Services". Aviation Week.
  43. ^ FP Staff (2024-10-28). "India's Gaganyaan Mission delayed, won't be launched in 2025, announces ISRO". Firstpost. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  44. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: No Gaganyaan unmanned flight this year". The Week.
  45. ^ "Prime Minister reviews readiness of Gaganyaan Mission".

Notes

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  1. ^ ISRO changed the name of GSLV Mk3 to LVM3 after the successful launch of LVM3-M2 mission. The rename was done to remove any ambiguity on the ability of the vehicle to put payloads in a particular orbit.[19][18]