GAGANYAAN MISSION (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci and Tech)

Context: One of the four astronauts undergoing training for the Gaganyaan mission will travel to the International Space Station as part of a collaborative effort with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Gaganyaan Mission

• About: Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching crew of 3 members.        
• Duration: 3 days.
• Orbit: Low Earth orbit, approximately 400 km above the Earth's surface.
• Launching vehicle: LVM3(Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III), Comprising solid, liquid and a cryogenic stage.
• Fourth: India will be the fourth nation to do so after the United States, Russia and China.
• Module: 

o Crew Module:  A spacecraft designed for transporting human beings.

o Service Module: Powered by two liquid propellant engines.

• Objective: To send Indian astronauts, known as Gagannauts, into space, making India the fourth nation in the world to independently conduct manned space missions.
• Astronaut training: Human Space Flight Centre of ISRO and Russian government-owned Glavkosmos signed a contract for astronaut training.

International Space Station (ISS)

• About: It is the largest modular space station in low Earth orbit. The project involves five space agencies:

o The US' NASA, Russia's Roscosmos, Japan's JAXA, Europe's ESA, and Canada's CSA. It orbits Earth approximately every 90 minutes, at an altitude of around 400 kilometers.

• Designed: Between 1984 and 1993.
• Objective: To enable long-term exploration of space and provide benefits to people on Earth.
• Orbit: It orbits earth at an average altitude of 400 km and circles the globe every 90-93 minutes at a speed of 28,000 km/h.