News Excerpt:

India announced the names of the four astronaut designates for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, which is planned for launch in 2025.

More about the news:

• The names of the Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots — Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla — were revealed for the first time in the presence of India’s Prime Minister during his visit to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram.

About Gaganyaan Mission:

• Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission and bringing them back safely to earth by landing in Indian sea waters.
• The prerequisites for the Gaganyaan mission include the development of many critical technologies, including - 
  • A rated launch vehicle for carrying the crew safely to space.
  • A Life Support System to provide an earth-like environment to the crew in space.
  • Crew emergency escape provision.
  • Evolving crew management aspects for training, recovery and rehabilitation of crew.

• Various precursor missions are planned to demonstrate the Technology Preparedness Levels before the actual Human Space Flight mission is completed. 
  • These demonstrator missions include the Integrated AirDrop Test (IADT), Pad Abort Test (PAT) and Test Vehicle (TV) flights. 
  • Safety and reliability of all systems will be proven in unmanned missions preceding manned missions.

• Human-rated LVM3 - (HLVM3):

• LVM3 rocket - The well-proven and reliable heavy lift launcher of ISRO is identified as the launch vehicle for the Gaganyaan mission. 
• It consists of solid stage, liquid stage and cryogenic stage. 
• All systems in the LVM3 launch vehicle are re-configured to meet human rating requirements and christened Human Rated LVM3. 
• HLVM3 will be capable of launching the Orbital Module to an intended Low Earth Orbit of 400 km.
• HLVM3 consists of a Crew Escape System (CES) powered by a set of quick-acting, high-burn rate solid motors, which ensures that the Crew Module, along with the crew, is taken to a safe distance in case of any emergency either at launch pad or during the ascent phase.

• Orbital Module

• • The Orbital Module (OM) that will be Orbiting Earth comprises a Crew Module (CM) and Service Module (SM). 
    • OM is equipped with state-of-the-art avionics systems with adequate redundancy considering human safety.
  • CM is the habitable space with Earth like environment in space for the crew. 

• • It is of double walled construction consisting of a pressurized metallic Inner Structure and an unpressurised External Structure with a Thermal Protection System (TPS). 
  • It houses the crew interfaces, human centric products, life support system, avionics and deceleration systems. 
  • It is also designed for re-entry to ensure crew safety during descent till touchdown.

• • SM will be used to provide necessary support to CM while in orbit. 
    • It is an unpressurized structure containing thermal, propulsion, power, avionics, and deployment mechanisms.

• Crew training for Gaganyaan:

• Astronaut Training Facility established in Bengaluru caters to Classroom training, Physical Fitness training, Simulator training and Flight suit training. 
• Training modules cover academic courses, Gaganyaan Flight Systems, Micro-gravity familiarization through Parabolic Flights, Aero-medical training, Recovery & Survival training, mastering of Flight Procedures and training on Crew Training Simulators. 
• Aero medical training, Periodic flying practice, and yoga are also included in the training.