Gaganyaan Launch Not Rushing, Says ISRO Chief Somanath

June 8th, Bengaluru According to its chairman S Somanath here on Thursday, the Indian Space Research Organization has opted not to accelerate its Gaganyaan project, the manned space trip, because it wants to make sure that the nation’s first human space journey is a “sure shot safe mission.”

According to Somanath, at the international conference on Spacecraft Mission Operations (SMOPS-2023), Gaganyaan was scheduled to launch in 2022 however there was an excessive delay owing to COVID-19.

“Our current way of thinking has changed. We don’t want to hurry, therefore that’s how we think. That’s the choice we made. A mission that is guaranteed to be safe is the main goal of human spaceflight, according to the ISRO director.

The mission has been reformulated by the space agency so that it would be successful on the first try. It has recently greatly improved the testing and demonstration mission as a result of this. He said that extra abort missions are included in these drills to protect the crew.

Somanath predicts that the first drill, which was originally scheduled for July, will likely take place in August.

The ISRO chairman said that two failed flights must be attempted this year, followed by a possible unmanned mission at the start of the next year.

The space scientist said that ISRO has finished all of the engine test programs.

Somanath said that there are many busy activities going on and that at least a few significant tests go place every week.

“For me, there are eight major tests, and if all of them pass without a hitch, the launch will take place between 2024 and 2025.” But if I run into issues or difficulties—which are common in this process—I’ll have to make accommodations for the timeline, he said.

Somanath said that the launch window for Aditya-L1, India’s first solar mission, spans from August of current year until January of the next year.

If we can’t launch it in August, we’ll try January of the next year, he said.

Somanath said that the launch of Chandrayaan-3, ISRO’s third lunar mission, is scheduled for mid-July. According to him, ISRO would use the same procedure that was used for the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

“Because we have previously done it, we are following Chandrayaan-2’s course. We have the expertise to handle it in that way, but it all relies on other elements, like the existence of any other contingency circumstances, Somanath said, adding, “The landing flight is exactly the same as before. The same. When asked about Chandrayaan-3’s level of indigenousness, the ISRO chairman said, “What we are doing at ISRO is 100% indigenous. We don’t purchase anything from anybody to accomplish it, although we do buy certain components like CPUs and high-end gadgets like electrical chips. However, we don’t buy the Chandrayaan lander from anyone. GMS GMS KH ANE PTI