India’s human spaceflight programme is moving into a decisive phase as the Indian Space Research Organisation prepares to launch the Gaganyaan 1 mission in December. This will be the first in a series of uncrewed test flights aimed at proving the systems needed to carry Indian astronauts into space.
A senior Isro official confirmed that the G1 mission will spend three days in low Earth orbit to rigorously test life support, navigation, re entry and other essential systems. “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 said.
The spacecraft will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and orbit Earth before making a controlled return. During the mission, onboard instruments will collect data on how the vehicle handles launch stresses, microgravity, radiation exposure and atmospheric re entry. This will serve as a complete rehearsal for future crewed missions.
Before the December launch, Isro plans to conduct an integrated drop test of the crew module. This test will simulate a parachute assisted landing by releasing the module from a set altitude to verify that all landing systems work properly. A Notam issued recently has hinted at the possibility of this drop test.
Meanwhile, astronaut training is progressing. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, one of the four Indian Air Force officers chosen for the mission, is expected to return to India this month after advanced training with Axiom Space in the United States. The four member crew will resume training in October at the Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru, where a new crew training simulator is nearing completion. This simulator will recreate launch, orbit and re entry scenarios to improve mission readiness.
With the G1 mission on track for December launch, anticipation is growing among scientists and space enthusiasts. Success in these uncrewed tests will set the stage for India’s first human spaceflight, placing the country among the few nations capable of sending astronauts into space.
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