India’s ambitious human spaceflight programme is entering a critical new chapter, with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) gearing up to launch the Gaganyaan-1 (G1) mission in December.
A senior Isro official has confirmed to IndiaToday.in that this landmark mission, the first in a series of crucial uncrewed test flights, will spend three days orbiting Earth to rigorously validate all systems and procedures developed for carrying Indian astronauts into space.
The G1 mission marks a pivotal moment for India’s space programme, as it aims to demonstrate the reliability and safety of the systems engineered for human spaceflight. “G1 is essential for vetting our technologies in real space conditions. We will be testing life support, navigation, re-entry, and other critical parameters required for safely sending humans into orbit and returning them home,” the official explained.
The spacecraft, set to be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, will circle the planet in a low-Earth orbit for approximately three days before making a controlled return.
Onboard instruments will gather vital data on how the vehicle copes with the stresses of launch, microgravity, radiation exposure, and atmospheric re-entry—a full dress rehearsal for a future mission with astronauts aboard.
DROP TEST AHEAD
Ahead of the December launch, Isro is also planning an integrated drop test involving the crew module.
This test will simulate a parachute-assisted landing by dropping the module from a designated altitude, further refining recovery operations and ensuring all landing systems function as intended.
While Isro is yet to announce officially, a Notam has been issued hinting at the possibility of the Crew Module drop test.
ASTRONAUT TRAINING TO RESUME
Meanwhile, the Gaganyaan astronaut training programme is regaining momentum. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, one of the four Indian Air Force officers selected for the historic flight, is expected to return to India this month after completing advanced training with Axiom Space in the US.
The four-member crew’s training regimen is slated to resume in October, with the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) in Bengaluru nearing the completion of a state-of-the-art crew training simulator.
This simulator is expected to drastically enhance mission preparedness by replicating launch, orbit, and re-entry scenarios for astronauts.
As the December G1 liftoff draws closer, anticipation is mounting both within India’s scientific community and among space enthusiasts.
Success in these uncrewed test flights will pave the way for the country’s first crewed space mission, a milestone that would place India among the select few nations capable of human spaceflight.
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