Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced that one of the four astronauts currently training for India's Gaganyaan mission will participate in a joint mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with NASA.
This collaborative effort involves NASA partnering with the private company Axiom Space, with whom ISRO has signed a Space Flight Agreement for the mission.
The announcement aligns with a previous statement made by President Joe Biden during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, where it was revealed that India and the US would work together to send an Indian astronaut to the ISS in 2024. The selection of the four astronauts, all test pilots from the Indian Air Force, was carried out by India's Astronaut Selection Board for the Gaganyaan mission, which aims to be India's first human spaceflight.
Jitendra Singh detailed that the astronauts have completed training on a basic spaceflight module in Russia and are currently undergoing further training at ISRO's Astronauts Training Facility (ATF) in Bengaluru. The training for the Gaganyaan mission has seen the completion of two out of three semesters, and the realization of independent training simulators and static mockup simulators.
On the technical side, significant progress has been made in the Gaganyaan mission's preparations.
Ground testing for the propulsion system stages, including solid, liquid, and cryogenic engines, has been successfully completed, ensuring the human rating of the launch vehicle. Additionally, the design and development of five types of crew escape system solid motors have been finalized, and static testing of these motors has been conducted.
The first Test Vehicle mission (TV-D1) aimed at validating the performance of the crew escape system and parachute deployment has been successfully executed. Designs for the crew module and service module structures have been completed, and various parachute systems have undergone tests, including integrated main parachute airdrop tests and rail track rocket sledge tests.
The ground test program for the Crew Module Propulsion System has concluded, while the Service Module Propulsion System's test program is nearing completion. The Thermal Protection System's characterization has also been finalized.
Key infrastructure for the mission, such as the Orbital Module Preparation Facility (OMPF), Astronaut Training Facility (ATF), and Oxygen Testing Facility, has been operationalized. Work on the Mission Control Centre (MCC) facilities and the establishment of Ground Station networks are nearing completion.
The solid and liquid propulsion stages of the human-rated launch vehicle are ready for flight integration, with the C32 cryogenic stage also nearing completion. The structure realization of the crew module and service module is finished, and flight integration activities are currently in progress.