Union Minister Jitendra Singh revealed in the Lok Sabha that one of the four astronauts training for ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) in collaboration with NASA.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has entered into a Space Flight Agreement with Axiom Space, a private organisation that NASA identified for the joint mission.
President Joe Biden announced the collaboration during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States last year. The selected astronaut will join the ISS mission in 2024. The four Indian Air Force test pilots selected for Gaganyaan have finished spaceflight training in Russia and are now training at ISRO’s Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru.
The Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human space journey, is planned for next year.
Singh also mentioned key developments, including the completion of ground testing for propulsion systems and the crew escape mechanism. Critical facilities like the Orbital Module Preparation Facility and Astronaut Training Facility are operating, while the Mission Control Center and Ground Station networks are nearly finished.
Flight integration activities for the crew and service modules are underway, with the solid and liquid propulsion stages of the human-rated launch vehicle prepared for integration.
