Three Indians to spend 7 days in space in ISRO's Gaganyaan Programme; Check details

Three Indian astronauts will be sent to space for up to seven days by 2022, as a part for the country’s ambitious Gaganyaan project by the ISRO.

The project will cost Rs 10,000 crore which includes cost of all technological deployments. (Image: ISRO/ Twitter)

ISRO Gaganyaan Programme: Three Indian astronauts will be sent to space for up to seven days by 2022, as a part for the country’s ambitious Gaganyaan project by the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO). The announcement was made by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday after the cabinet approved a budget of Rs 10,000 crore for the project. The Gaganyaan programme was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his fifth and final Independence Day speech before the 2019 general elections. PM Modi had said that the mission will be undertaken by 2022. India has already inked agreements with Russia and France for assistance in the ambitious project. Under the project, ISRO will deploy its biggest rocket, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III), to send three Indian in space for a week from its spaceport in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The cabinet meeting chaired by PM Modi approved the programme with a demonstration of Indian Human Spaceflight capability to low earth orbit for a mission duration ranging from one orbital period to a maximum of seven days. Reportedly, ISRO will launch the project in collaboration with several National agencies, academia and institutes to accomplish the project. As per reports, the project will cost Rs 10,000 crore which includes cost of all technological deployments, rocket’s hardware costing and other essential infrastructure elements. It is also being said that two unnamed flights along with one manned flight will be a part of the Gaganyaan Programme. Commenting on the development of the project, Dr K Sivan, Chairman of ISRO had earlier said it was a "very, very tight schedule but ISRO will do it.” India plans to call the three astronauts ‘Vyomnauts’ as Vyom in Sanskrit means space. Till date, ISRO has spent close to Rs 170 crore on building critical technologies for the human spaceflight which was for the first time in 2008. However, the programme was put on halt due to the economic conditions of the country.