Gaganyaan mission slated for first quarter of 2027: ISRO chief Narayanan
The Hindu
India's Gaganyaan human space flight delayed to 2027, with uncrewed missions planned for 2026.
The launch of India's maiden human space flight — Gaganyaan — has been pushed to the first quarter of 2027, nearly five years later than the original schedule as it races to ace technologies for such complex projects.
The first uncrewed mission of the Gaganyaan project is expected to be launched later this year, which will be followed by two more similar missions in 2026, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V. Narayanan said at a press conference.
“The first crewed mission is targeted for the first quarter of 2027,” Mr. Narayanan said and added ISRO would send a half-humanoid robot — Vyommitra — as part of the uncrewed mission before sending astronauts to low-Earth orbit.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Gaganyaan project during his Independence Day address in 2018 and set a target of 2022 for achieving India's maiden human space flight.
The project has run into several delays, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the training of astronauts, and complexities of mastering the crucial technologies required for the mission.
The crewed mission was expected to take place in 2025 and later slotted for 2026. It has now been delayed to the first quarter of 2027.
