Bengaluru: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan on Friday said the Rs 10,000 crore worth Gaganyaan mission is a major turning point for the space agency, while adding that his team is targeting to send the first manned mission to space in December 2021. Sivan also said the target is for two unmanned missions to space is December 2020 and July 2021.
“With Gaganyaan, a major expansion of ISRO is taking place. This is because in Gaganyaan our payload is too much because we have to train a human and take him to space and bring him back. This is a major expansion because it’s not only launching a human into space but a space station. The human program is a major turning point,” Sivan told media here, reports ANI.
The initial training for Gaganyaan will be done in India and advanced training might happen in Russia, Sivan said. “Women astronauts will be there on the team. That’s our aim,” he shared. He also declared that India’s second Moon mission is planned for mid-April this year. The space agency had earlier said Chandrayaan-2 will be launched in a window from January-February 16, 2019.
