ISRO working towards first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission ahead of 2027 human spaceflight
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The Indian Space Research Organisation is working towards the first uncrewed mission of its ambitious Gaganyaan programme, which is scheduled for 2027, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan has said.
Gaganyaan is India’s first human spaceflight programme and aims to send a three-member crew on a three-day mission to space before bringing them back safely to Earth.
Speaking to reporters late Friday, Narayanan said three uncrewed missions are planned before the crewed flight, and preparations are currently focused on the first of these.
He said scientists are conducting extensive tests to ensure the mission’s success, stressing that crew safety is the top priority. Narayanan said every system involved in the mission must be carefully qualified and that the rocket system must achieve complete reliability.
“Our aim is the success of Gaganyaan. We have to do a perfect job, and we are working towards that,” he said.
Narayanan also spoke about the recent PSLV-C62 mission, which encountered an anomaly in the third stage of the rocket after lift off on January 12. He said scientists are studying all aspects of the mission to identify issues and put corrective measures in place. The PSLV-C62 was carrying the EOS N1 satellite when the anomaly occurred.