PM Modi Unveils Identities Of Astronauts For Gaganyaan Space Mission

TRIVANDRUM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday revealed the identities of the four astronauts who will embark on India's maiden human space flight endeavor, Gaganyaan, scheduled for launch in 2024-25.

The selected group, comprising of 4 esteemed astronauts, includes Group Captain Prashanth Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla.

All the members of the quartet hail from the Indian Air Force and they have honed their skills through rigorous training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia.

PM Modi, during his visit to Kerala, carried out a thorough inspection on the progress made by the Gaganyaan mission, bestowing 'astronaut wings' upon the designated spacefarers at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

This mission stands as a testament to India's pioneering venture into human space exploration, with meticulous work in progress across various facilities of ISRO.

PM Modi, while addressing the gathering at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, emphasized the propulsive role of India's strides in space exploration in stimulating a strong scientific ethos among the nation's youth. 

He also envisaged India's rise as a global economic powerhouse, coinciding with the elevation of its space endeavors through initiatives like Gaganyaan.

As per ISRO, the Gaganyaan project aims to validate human spaceflight capabilities by deploying a crew of three to orbit 400 km above Earth for a three-day mission, concluding in a safe return through splashdown in Indian waters.

Important requirements include the creation of critical technologies such as a human-rated launch vehicle, life support systems, crew emergency protocols, and comprehensive crew management frameworks.

A number of preceding missions, including the Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT), Pad Abort Test (PAT), and Test Vehicle (TV) flights, are set to illustrate the necessary technological readiness ahead of the manned mission.

The deployment of the LVM3 rocket, ISRO's proven heavy-lift launcher, has been allocated for the Gaganyaan mission.

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