Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath said on Friday (September 20, 2024) that the space agency will take all precautions by carrying out a sufficient number of tests before the manned Gaganyaan mission is launched.

Speaking to reporters on the final day of the Bangalore Space Expo, Mr. Somanath said that the ISRO does not want a situation like that of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which recently returned to Earth without the astronauts.

First Uncrewed Mission

He said that the ISRO will conduct the first uncrewed mission by the end of this year, followed by three more missions before the manned space flight.

“If all three missions go well then we will have the manned mission. We have not put a very tight timeline. I don’t want to end up like what happened with Boeing. We should be very, very careful, we should be very pessimistic, we should be working in such a manner that it can go wrong. That type of approach is important for us to make sure that the mission finally becomes successful,” Mr. Somanath said.

He added that the launch of the first uncrewed mission will most likely take place by December and that the rocket has already reached ISRO’s spaceport in Sriharikota where final integration will take place.

The Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of three members to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bringing them back safely to earth by landing in Indian sea waters.

Other Projects

The ISRO Chairman also spoke about Chandrayaan-4, Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), and the building of the first unit of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), which were approved by the Union Cabinet on September 18.

He said that the four projects have been approved by the Union Cabinet with an overall outlay of about ₹22,000 crore, and are part of the vision of the Government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced almost a year ago that when looking forward to 2047, there must be a “long-term mission in space”, he said. “This would include not just the regular things we do, in terms of application, communication, and remote sensing, but things that will inspire the next generation and create a technological jump in space activities.”

The ISRO chief said the ultimate vision is building a space station by 2035 and having an Indian land on the moon by 2040.

On the VOM, he said that it is an important mission after successfully landing on Mars and the moon.

“Venus is our nearest planet and it is more challenging than the Mars mission which we have accomplished because the atmosphere of Venus is hundred times more than that of the Earth,” he said.

Sister Planets

He added that the three planets — Venus, Mars and Earth — are sister planets and similar to each other. “While the Earth is habitable, we do not know why Venus and Mars are not. Tomorrow, Earth may become inhabitable due to some reason, so if you don’t study what is happening on these planets, our future generations will not pardon us,” he added.

The mission is expected to be accomplished on the opportunity available during March 2028.

(With Inputs From Agencies)