ISRO chief: India can achieve manned spaceflight by 2022
Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of sending an Indian to space by 2022, ISRO chairman K Sivan has said that the space agency can fulfil it. Notably, India's Human Spaceflight Program (HSP) will mark the country's first attempt for a manned spaceflight, a feat that has only been achieved by the US, Russia, and China so far. Here's what we know.
PM Modi's promise to India
"We have decided that by 2022 when India completes 75 years of Independence, or before that, a son or daughter of India will go to space with a tricolor in their hands," promised PM Modi during his Independence Day speech.
What ISRO has in mind, pertaining to a manned spaceflight
Sivan said that the plan is to send an Indian astronaut into space for seven days at a cost of less than Rs. 10,000cr (roughly $1.5bn). He added that the astronaut would spend those days in a spacecraft 300-400km above Earth, and the spacecraft would be launched using ISRO's GSLV-Mk III rocket. The first unmanned test is slated to happen two years from now.
ISRO has already developed some of the required technology
Further, the ISRO chief added that the space agency would have to start working on requirements for the project right away. Notably, ISRO has already developed some of the critical technology required for a manned spaceflight, including a crew module, an environmental control system, a life support system, a flight suit, and other requisite sub-systems for the crew module.
The plan is to develop everything in India
Interestingly, the ISRO chief said that the plan was to develop all the requisite technology in India itself. ISRO has already tested its indigenously developed crew module and crew escape system, and the GSLV-Mk III has had its maiden flight. It's understood that the astronaut for the mission will be selected by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and spaceflight training will be given overseas.
Sivan: Modi's promise is a great gift to ISRO
"It came as a surprise to us. I was not expecting this, but [Modi's promise] is a great gift to ISRO, and we are confident of sending Indians to space in the next four years, although it is a tight schedule," said Sivan.
