Bengaluru, April 8 (IANS). Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman V. Narayanan said on Wednesday that three unmanned (uncrewed) missions will be sent before Gaganyaan, India’s first manned space mission.
Speaking to reporters after the inaugural session of the International ‘Spacecraft Mission Operations’ conference, Narayanan said that work on the Gaganyaan program is going on based on the guidelines and announcements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Three uncrewed missions have been scheduled before the crewed mission. Currently, we are working on the first unmanned mission and all activities are going on smoothly,” he said. He also said that the timelines and other information of the missions will be shared at the appropriate time.
Emphasizing the importance of mission operations, the ISRO chief said that it plays a very important role in any space mission. He explained that the launch vehicle operates only for 20-25 minutes, while mission operations continue for a longer period. For example, communications satellites require 15 years of continuous operation.
Referring to the Mars Orbiter Mission, Narayanan said that the operation in this mission had to be carried out for about 300 days, only then it could be successful.
On the challenges of manned space mission, he said that this is going to be a first for India, hence many new technologies and systems will have to be developed. This includes human rating of the launch vehicle, crew escape system, environmental control and safety systems to ensure better coordination between man, machine and software.
Giving information about the conference, he said that there will be detailed discussion on mission operations and new technologies. About 400 research papers will be presented, which will prove to be extremely useful for students, startup companies and engineers working in this field.
–IANS
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