India is set to conduct a key test in its ambitious Gaganyaan space mission as early as next month, mission project director R Hutton told Reuters.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is currently training four astronauts and is looking to expand the cohort as it focuses on other future manned missions, Hutton said.
The Gaganyaan mission is aimed at developing a human-habitable space capsule that will carry a crew of three into a 400 km (250 mi) orbit for three days before returning to safety in a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
ISRO said it will explore ways to achieve a permanent human presence in space once Gaganyaan is completed.
The team is looking to test its crew escape system, which can be used to eject astronauts in emergency situations, before conducting a battery of other tests before the final stage of launch, Hutton said, adding: “Safety is the most important thing we have to ensure. “.
About Rs 90.23 billion has been allocated for the mission, which comes after the historic landing of its Chandrayaan-3 craft on the moon’s south pole.
While an exact timeline has not been shared, the mission is expected to be launched from the country’s main spaceport in Sriharikota before 2024.
The space agency earlier said its Vikram Sarabhai Space Center successfully tested systems to stabilize the crew module and safely reduce its speed during re-entry.
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