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Mahesh

06/08/24 12:29 PM IST

The joint India-U.S. mission to fly two Gaganyatris to the ISS

In News
  • Recently,the  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that two of the astronauts selected for its maiden human spaceflight mission, ‘Gaganyaan’, will travel to the U.S. in the first week of August to train there for a mission to the International Space Station.
About mission
  • On June 22, 2023, the U.S. and India issued a joint statement after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Joe Biden.
  • Among other things, the statement mentioned “a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024”.
  • The two astronauts — or “Gaganyatris”, as ISRO is calling them — are the Indian participants for this mission.
  • ISRO published a statement in which it said: “During the mission, the Gaganyatri will undertake selected scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS as well as engage in space outreach activities.
  • The experiences gained during this mission will be beneficial for [Gaganyaan] and it will also strengthen human space flight cooperation between ISRO and NASA.”
Part of India's crew
  • Prime Minister Modi announced the names of the four astronaut-candidates for Gaganyaan mission — the ambitious ISRO mission to fly Indian astronauts to space onboard an Indian launch vehicle.
  • The other two, apart from Mr. Shukla and Mr. Nair, were Group Captains Ajit Krishnan and Angad Pratap.
  • All four are test pilots with the Indian Air Force.
  • They have undergone training in India and Russia; according to the India-U.S. joint statement, NASA will provide Mr. Shukla and Mr. Nair “advanced training.
  • According to ISRO, a “National Mission Assignment Board” selected Mr. Shukla and Mr. Nair for the joint mission.
  • Their flight to the ISS will next need to be approved by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel, which has representatives from the ISS’s five international partners: NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.
Mission parameters
  • The mission, colloquially called Ax-4, is the fourth crewed mission to the ISS organised by Axiom Space, a private company based in Houston.
  • Axiom plans to operate the world’s first commercial space station. Its current offerings include human spaceflight services, as part of which it selects and trains astronaut-candidates, charters launch vehicles, and plans and manages space missions.
  • As participants of the Ax-4 mission, Mr. Shukla or Mr. Nair will fly to the ISS along with two other astronauts.
  • SpaceX will provide the launch vehicle for the mission and its Crew Dragon capsule will house the crew. NASA has said the mission will last 14 days.
  • According to the ISS’s programme manager, Ax-4 will fly no sooner than November 2024.
  • At a conference in Las Vegas in late July/early August July 30 to August 1, representatives of Boryung, a South Korean pharmaceutical company that has invested in Axiom Space.
Gaganyaan status
  • ISRO has thus far completed the pad abort and the high-altitude abort tests, and has tested the crew escape system, among others.
  • In October 2023, Mr. Somanath told the LVM-3 launch vehicle for the mission has virtually completed the process of being rated to carry humans.
  • The crew module was still being developed and that it would have to be manufactured abroad.
  • The next major Gaganyaan milestones are a series of uncrewed suborbital and orbital test flights.
  • The last of these is currently expected to happen in mid-2025, although the date could slip further.
Source- Indian Express

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