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The
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is currently training
four astronauts and looking to expand the cohort as it aims for
more future manned missions, Hutton said.
The Gaganyaan mission is aimed at developing a human-habitable
space capsule that will carry a three-member crew into an orbit
of 400 km (250 miles) for three days, before returning to safety
in a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
ISRO has said it will explore ways to achieve a sustained human
presence in space once Gaganyaan is completed.
The team is aiming to test its crew escape system, which can be
used to eject astronauts in emergencies, before undertaking a
battery of other tests before the final launch phase, Hutton
said, adding: "Safety is the most important thing we need to
ensure".
About 90.23 billion Indian rupees ($1.1 billion) has been
allocated for the mission, which comes after the space agency's
historical landing of its Chandrayaan-3 craft on the lunar south
pole.
While an exact timeline has not been shared, the mission is
expected to be launched from the country's main spaceport in
Sriharikota before 2024.
The space agency has previously said its Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre had successfully tested systems for stabilizing the crew
module and safely reducing its velocity during re-entry.
($1 = 83.0400 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee; Writing by Blassy Boben;
Editing by David Holmes)
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