After the historic Chandrayaan-3 soft landing on the Lunar south pole with the subsequent scientific rover mission, and the launch of the Solar probe Aditya-L1, the Indian Space Agency (ISRO) is NOT resting on its laurels.
but rather is doubling down on cementing its status as Planet Earth’s newest space superpower, with a much more risky challenge: a manned space mission.
Money Control reported:
“The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is getting ready to launch the first Gaganyaan mission, with Vyommitra, a female-looking space-faring humanoid robot as its first tester.
[…] Last week, Union minister Jitendra Singh updated the public on India’s first manned space trip, revealing that trials for the project would begin in October. He said the project’s second phase will involve the launch of a female humanoid robot called ‘Vyommitra’ into space.
[…] The launch of Gaganyaan, the first mission to send humans into space, is planned for 2024. The original launch date for the mission was 2022. However, it was pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
An Indian astronaut, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, already went to space, as a cosmonaut aboard a Russian spacecraft.
“The Gaganyaan project aims to launch a three-person crew on a three-day voyage in a 400-kilometer orbit and bring them safely back to Earth. The team will touch down in the Indian Ocean on their return trip.”
To accomplish this new level of space missions, ISRO will modify the current LVM-3 rocket and it will become a ‘Human-Rated Launch Vehicle’ (HRLV), capable of carrying a crew module and the Indian astronauts to space.
IndiaToday reported:
“Rajarajan, Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), explained in an exclusive interview with IndiaToday that the primary role of the HRLV will be to transport the crew module and orbital module into space, placing them in a 400 km circular orbit.
‘LVM3 will be called HRLV as we are human rating the vehicle. All the systems will be developed with the most margin of safety against failure. Along with this, we will have to make sure that the crew escape system should take away the crew module to a safe distance in case of any anomaly in any stages’,” Rajarajan said.”
All systems will have a ‘high safety margin against failure’, and a crew escape system will be implemented. The idea is that that the crew module can be safely ejected away from the rocket, in case of any ‘anomalies’.
“Rajarajan also discussed the infrastructure requirements for the mission, stating that a separate facility is being established for the preparation of the orbital module, which includes the crew module, the service module, and the crew escape system.”
ISRO is willç begin testing using the L-40 engine in October. But before any humans step into the capsule and risk their lives, a friendly helping hand will be given by a humanoid robot ‘space friend’.
DQ India reported:
“Vyommitra is a half-humanoid robot resembling humans. […] Vyommitra is named after the Sanskrit words ‘Vyoma’ which means ‘space’ and ‘Mitra’ meaning ‘friend’. It embodies the aspirations of India’s space program to explore the cosmos alongside human companions.”
Vyommitra is ‘a mission in itself’.
“In preparation for India’s maiden [manned] spaceflight mission, Vyommitra will be a part of the uncrewed Gaganyaan mission. During her space endeavor, she will be responsible for executing some vital tasks that include: microgravity Experiments, monitoring module parameters, etc.
[…] Vyommitra will test systems and procedures that will be employed during manned missions ensuring their effectiveness. It will contribute to improving the safety of future manned mission.”
Read More about Indian space program here: