IAF completes first level of astronaut selection for Gaganyaan

IAF had signed an agreement with ISRO for the country's prestigious maiden manned mission Gaganyaan by 2022. Pic/Twiter IANS

On Friday, officials from the Indian Air Force (IAF) said that the first level of selection of Indian astronauts for Mission Gaganyaan has been completed at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine. On May 29, 2019, the Indian Air Force had signed an agreement with the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for crew selection and training for the country's prestigious maiden manned mission Gaganyaan by 2021-22.

According to sources, the selected pilots have undergone extensive physical exercise tests, lab investigations, clinical tests, radiological tests, and psychological evaluation in order to get selected for the Gaganyaan mission. The mission Gaganyaan aims to launch an Indian-crewed spacecraft by the ISRO by 2022.

ISRO chairman K. Sivan said that ISRO is capable of accomplishing this mission within the given time-frame of 2022. The mission Gaganyaan project is projected to be worth Rs 10,000 crore. The mission was announced by OM Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech last year.

The mission Gaganyaan will send a three-member Indian crew to space for a period of seven days. Sources related to the project said that the spacecraft will be placed in a low earth orbit of 300-400 km, reports news agency IANS. Mission Gaganyaan will undertake two unmanned and one manned flight as part of its mission.

According to officials from ISRO, four Indian astronauts will be visiting Russia for 15 months of training by November this year. The training will take place at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia. The rigorous training will be followed by further training back home in India for six to eight months.

Also Read: IAF ties up with ISRO for manned mission crew selection, mission Gaganyaan

With inputs from IANS

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