/sci/ - Science & Math

>>15818675
another article but similar theme

ISRO prepares for human spaceflight
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https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4673/1
> Developing and testing Gaganyaan’s Crew Escape System is one of the many prerequisite critical systems ISRO must develop and demonstrate prior to the first crewed flight. India's human spaceflight program has had a checkered history. The first public report of India's intention to develop a human spaceflight program came in 2007. The program was formalized and announced in 2009 but not really funded. At that time, the close relationship between ISRO and Roscosmos was expected to deliver results by 2016. That timeline did not materialize but ISRO has been quietly developing many of the critical systems required for the Gaganyaan program since. The formal political announcement came from the prime minister on India’s independence day, August 12, 2018. The goal then was the first crewed flight in 2022 to mark India’s 75th year of independence. Many delays, including from Covid, have shifted the first launch to at least 2025. In the meantime, ISRO has been developing critical technologies including environmental control systems, prototypes of spacesuits, and human-rating the LVM3. It has also conducted a drop test of the crew module from a helicopter and the recovery procedure after splashdown.
> In June 2023, India signed NASA’s Artemis Accords. It included a potential flight of an Indian astronaut to the ISS in 2024. It is unlikely but, if that happens, the astronaut selected will be one of four Indian Air Force test pilots already trained in Star City in preparation for the Gaganyaan mission. So, it may well be that the next Indian astronaut to fly in space will be on the ISS, before Gaganyaan.