ISRO Gaganyaan mission gets Cabinet approval along with a Rs 10,000-crore budget

tech2 News StaffJun 27, 2019 12:09:26 IST

The Union Cabinet on Friday has given the nod to India's first manned mission to space and cleared a budget of Rs 10,000 crore for the program known as Gaganyaan.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will submit a project report to the government in two months and identify a programme manager for the mission, Economic Times reported.

ISRO is considering collaborations with established space-faring nations like Russia or America for training astronauts for the mission. If successful, Gaganyaan will make India only the fourth space-faring nation to have its own crewed mission fly to space – after US, Russia and China.

The mighty GSLV-MkIII will be the rocket modified with a crew module for the astronauts in the manned mission. Image courtesy; ISRO

ISRO has long since begun preparing to undertake a manned mission but only recently revealed its plans: to send a 3-member crew of Vyomanauts to low-Earth orbit on a historic seven-day trip orbiting Earth in 2022.

"India will send into space — a man or a woman — by 2022, before that if possible," Modi said in a marathon address at the Red Fort in New Delhi for the country's Independence Day.

The astronaut would be "carrying the national flag," Modi said.

Between now and Gaganyaan's launch in 2021/22, ISRO has roughly 50 launches planned, including the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the Moon in January 2019.

Big day for @isro as cabinet approves Rs. 10,000 crores for Indias first manned mission to space in 2022 - Gaganyaan. @woman_rednow discusses crucial details with @ankitv.
More on https://t.co/KjYwoeibpz pic.twitter.com/0wHDLBoVG8

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