Watch| Indian Air Force releases video revealing India’s ISRO Gaganyaan astronauts

Indian Air Force released a video clip revealing Indian astronaut candidates for the Gaganyaan mission for the first time as part of the 91st Indian Air Force Day celebrations

The video shows them engaged in intensive workouts. These four Indian Air Force pilots have been selected after vigorous rounds to undertake the ISRO's Gaganyaan Human spaceflight mission to Low Earth orbit.

On the Earth's surface we experience '1g' force, that is the ordinary gravitational pull.

Indian Air Force pilots were chosen for this mission instead of astronauts as India doesn't have an exclusive pool of astronauts. Fighter Pilots can withstand high gravitational forces or 'g-forces' experienced during complex aerial manoeuvres. Due to their profession, fighter pilots are accustomed to enduring these forces, making them ideal candidates for astronaut missions.

Also read: India's first C-295 aircraft formally inducted into IAF. Details here

These Indian astronaut candidates have already undergone training at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre and have been engaged in simulator and theoretical training in India. They have also visited ISRO's lead centre, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, reported WION.

Also read: LCA Tejas: Indian Air Force to get first-ever twin-seater Light Combat Aircraft, aligned with ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’

US President Joe Biden revealed a mission to launch Indian astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024 during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent state visit to the US marking a collaboration in Human Spaceflight. This partnership implies that Indian astronauts will train at the Johnson Space Centre in US' Texas.

The ISS mission is expected to serve as a precursor to India's Gaganyaan mission and provide valuable insights into living and working in space. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma was the first and only Indian astronaut to travel to space as part of the Soviet Interkosmos program in 1984.

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The video clip showcasing the astronaut candidates is released ahead of the 91st Indian Air Force Day celebrations on October 8th. ISRO is going to perform the maiden in-flight abort test of the Gaganyaan crew module by the end of this month. It is a crucial test ahead of Gaganyaan mission that ISRO will possibly undertake by March 2024, reported WION.