India is making a significant stride in its space program with an Indian astronaut, called a ‘Gaganyaatri,’ set to travel to the International Space Station (ISS). Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Space, announced this in response to a query in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.
Singh revealed that the Indian space agency ISRO, in collaboration with NASA and private entity Axiom Space, is planning this mission. Recently, ISRO signed an agreement with Axiom Space for this joint mission, known as Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), which is scheduled to launch in August 2024 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Indian Gaganyaatri will be one of four astronauts on this mission, joining an international team.
The chosen Gaganyaatri will come from a group of four Indian Air Force test pilots, who have been undergoing rigorous training for ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission, aimed at demonstrating India’s human spaceflight capabilities by 2025. These astronauts were selected by ISRO’s Astronaut Selection Board and have completed basic spaceflight training in Russia. Currently, they are training at ISRO’s Astronauts Training Facility in Bengaluru.
Singh also provided an update on the Gaganyaan mission’s progress, noting that two out of three training semesters are complete, and essential infrastructure, like simulators, has been developed. He confirmed that the human-rated launch vehicle is almost ready, with the crew and service modules in the final stages of integration.
