Isro’s Rs10,000-cr manned space mission set for 2022

Addressing the conference, Isro chairman K Sivan said while it is a huge responsibility and a challenging task, Isro has the capabilities to accomplish this task by the given timeframe. He said the programme will make India the fourth nation in the world to launch a human spaceflight. So far, only the USA, Russia and China have launched human spaceflight missions.

It may be recalled that the Prime Minister during his Independence Day address had announced `Gaganyaan — India's maiden human spaceflight programme'. He had declared that 'a son or a daughter of India will go to Space from Indian soil by an Indian vehicle by 2022 (75th year of Indian independence) or sooner'. 

This is the most ambitious space programme undertaken by Isro till date and is essential as it will give a big boost to the science and technology development within the country, said Sivan. This will also inspire the youth of the country to take up bigger challenges and enhance the prestige of the country.

He said Isro has developed some critical technologies like re-entry mission capability, crew escape system, crew module configuration, thermal protection system, deceleration and floatation system, sub-systems of life support system etc. required for this programme. Some of these technologies have been demonstrated successfully through the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-2007), Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE-2014) and Pad Abort Test (2018). These technologies will enable ISRO in accomplishing the programme objectives in a short span of four years, he said.

Isro will use the GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle, which has the necessary payload capability for this mission, to launch Gaganyaan. 

Two unmanned Gaganyaan missions will be undertaken prior to sending humans. The total programme is expected to be completed before 2022 with first unmanned flight within 30 months. 

The mission will aim to send a three-member crew to space for a period of five to seven days. The spacecraft will be placed in a low earth orbit of 300-400km. The total programme cost is expected to be less than Rs10,000 crore, he said.

Describing the mission as a complex one, the Isro chairman said it would truly be a national endeavour with the participation of Isro, academia, industry as well as other government and private agencies as stakeholders. To accelerate the programme, Isro may consider collaborations with space agencies from friendly countries with advanced space programmes, he said.

The Indian space programme has evolved from its humble beginnings into a mature national capability to utilize space technology for societal development. The capability acquired over time has been taken forward to undertake milestone missions in space science and exploration such as the Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission and Astrosat, thereby enriching the global knowledge base on the cosmos.

Giving details about Gaganyan, Dr Sivan said it will comprise of a crew module and service module that constitute an orbital module. It weighs approximately 7 tonnes, and will be carried by a rocket. The crew module’s size will be 3.7 mts x 7 mts. The crew will do microgravity experiment during the mission. The crew will be selected by Indian Air Force (IAF) and Isro jointly after which they will undergo training for two-three years. While Isro has perfected the engineering aspects of the mission, Dr Sivan said, bioscience is a new field for Isro and requires collaboration and support from other organisations.

The objectives of the mission include:

During the conference, he also spoke about the forthcoming projects of Isro, including Chandrayaan-2, which is scheduled to be launched in January 2019.  The mission will have an orbiter weighing 2,379 kg, lander named Vikram weighing 1,471 kg and a rover weighing 27 kg. 

Explaining the delay in launch of Chandrayaan-2, he said, the payload of the mission has increased to provide for another component of the lander at 30 km orbit, which required a GSLV MkIII rocket for launch.

He said Isro aims to launch 19 missions up till March 2019. These missions include launch of four satellites to accomplish the Digital India programme by providing higher bandwidth for connectivity.