India’s maiden human space flight Gaganyaan.

\Why in News?

• The Government has said, the country’s maiden human space flight mission, Gaganyaan, is targeted to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024.
• This was stated by Union Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
• The Minister said, in view of the paramount importance of crew safety, two uncrewed flights are scheduled, before the final human space flight- ‘H1 mission’, to demonstrate the performance of the crew escape system and parachute-based deceleration system for different flight conditions.
• He said, uncrewed ‘G1 mission’ will be targeted in the last quarter of next year, followed by the ‘G2’ in the second quarter of 2024.
• Jitendra Singh said the astronaut designates for the Gaganyaan are identified and undergoing mission-specific training at Bengaluru.

What is Gaganyaan Mission?

• About:
  • Gaganyaan is a mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  • Under the Gaganyaan schedule:
    • Three flights will be sent into orbit.
    • There will be two unmanned flights and one human spaceflight.
  • The Gaganyaan system module, called the Orbital Module will have three Indian astronauts, including a woman.
  • It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from earth for 5-7 days.
• Payloads:
  • The payload will consist of:
    • Crew module: Spacecraft carrying human beings.
    • Service module:Powered by two liquid propellant engines.
    • It will be equipped with emergency escape and emergency mission abort.
  • Launch:

• • GSLV Mk III, also called the LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3,) the three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has the necessary payload capability.

• Training in Russia:

• • In June 2019, the Human Space Flight Centre of the ISRO and the Russian government-owned Glavkosmos signed a contract for the training, which includes Russian support in the selection of candidates, their medical examination, and space training.
    • The candidates will study in detail the systems of the Soyuz manned spaceship, as well as be trained in short-term weightlessness mode aboard the Il-76MDK aircraft.
    • The Soyuz is a Russian spacecraft. The Soyuz carries people and supplies to and from the space station.
    • The Il-76MDK is a military transport plane specially designed for parabolic flights of trainee astronauts and space tourists.