The Gaganyaan astronauts can be safely rescued during the return mission from 48 backup points which have been identified by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) across the world, said senior officials as quoted by Hindustan Times.
A senior ISRO official associated with the Gaganyaan mission stated if everything goes by the book, then the module will be able to land in the Indian waters.
“There are backup plans too if that is not achieved because we cannot take any chance to ensure the safety of the crew since this is a human spaceflight. For this, we have marked possible points where the capsule could land," the official said as quoted by HT.
Initially, the Indian space agency had finalized two landing spots in Indian waters – the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. But later on, the landing site in the Arabian Sea was finalized due to the rough waters and the unpredictability of the Bay of Bengal, the official said.
Isro’s human spaceflight programme is expected to put India on the global map of human space-faring nations. Upon successful completion, India will join the US, Russia and China as nations that have active human spaceflight programmes.
Unmanned trials for Gaganyaan are expected to commence later this year. By March next year, Isro is expected to complete seven trial launches under Gaganyaan.
The space agency has recently revealed the first four astronauts selected for India’s human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan. The astronauts are test pilots with the Indian Air Force, and will be a part of the country’s first ever manned space mission that is scheduled for take-off by the end of next year.
The astronauts—Group Captains Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan and Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Subhanshu Shukla—were offered designatory astronaut-wing badges by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Isro’s headquarters.
India’s manned space mission is being handled purely by Isro, which is working with partner vendors for a fully indigenous technology stack for Gaganyaan’s space infrastructure.
This marks a key differentiating factor between India and the US, which contracts private firms such as SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin for a wide range of commercial as well as human spaceflight projects.
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