Why in news?

• India’s astronaut candidates who have been training for Gaganyaan may find themselves travelling to the International Space Station (ISS) on a joint India-US mission next year.
  • Gaganyaan is the country’s first human spaceflight mission.
• The just-announced joint India-US mission to ISS might be an earlier opportunity to send the astronauts who have been training for their trip for the last three years.
  • During PM Modi’s ongoing visit, NASA and ISRO have agreed to a joint mission to the ISS in 2024.

What’s in today’s article?

• International Space Station (ISS)
• Gaganyaan

International Space Station (ISS):

• A space station is essentially a large spacecraft that remains in low-earth orbit (LEO) for extended periods of time. It is like a large laboratory in space.
  • LEO is an orbit that is relatively close to Earth’s surface. It is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km but could be as low as 160 km above Earth.
  • ISS is placed in an orbit at an altitude of about 400 km above Earth.
• It allows astronauts to come aboard and stay for weeks or months to carry out experiments in
• ISS has been known for the exemplary cooperation between the five participating space agencies that have been running it. These countries are:
  • NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada).
    • In July 2022, Russia announced to pull out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost.

Features

• The ISS has been in space since 1998. It orbits the earth at an altitude of 430 km, with an inclination of 52 degree with an orbital velocity of 7.7 km/s.
• It circles the Earth in roughly 93 minutes, completing 15.5 orbits per day.
• So far, the floating laboratory has hosted more than 3,000 research and educational investigations, carrying out cutting edge research in various disciplines.

Gaganyaan Mission

• Gaganyaan project (expected to be launched in 2025) envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3 days mission and bring them back safely to earth.
  • It is part of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme (IHSP), which was initiated (2007) by the ISRO to develop the technology needed to launch crewed orbital spacecraft into low earth orbit (LEO).
• Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3/GSLV Mk3) rocket - the well proven and reliable heavy lift launcher of ISRO, is identified as the launch vehicle for Gaganyaan mission.
  • India’s heaviest rocket consists of solid stage, liquid stage and cryogenic stage.
• All systems in the LVM3 launch vehicle are re-configured to meet human rating requirements and christened Human Rated LVM3/HLVM3.
• 

How is ISRO getting ready for the Gaganyaan Launch?

• Some of the recent efforts -
  • HLVM3 launch vehicle,
  • Upgrading the mission control complex,
  • Building an ‘umbilical tower’ on the second launch pad (Sriharikota) for maintenance of the rocket while on the launch platform,
  • Agreement with Australia for setting up a mobile unit for direct-to-ground communication at Cocos Island.
• The selected astronauts have completed the first semester of the mission-specific training in India, after completing a generic training for spacefaring in Russia.
  • The four selected astronauts, whose identity has not been revealed, have been training for the Gaganyaan flight since early 2020.
• The space agency will undertake two test vehicle missions to demonstrate crew escape systems mid-flight and the retrieval of the crew module once it splashed down in the ocean.
• This will be followed by the first unmanned Gaganyaan mission that will carry an unpressurised crew module.
• Subsequently, there will be two more test vehicle missions to check all systems before the second unmanned flight.

Current Status of Gaganyaan Mission

• Gaganyaan, originally meant to be launched in 2022, in the 75th year of India’s Independence, has seen its schedule getting postponed because of the pandemic.
• Recently, ISRO chairman hinted that the mission could be pushed back further from its current 2024 schedule.
  • There are eight major tests remaining to be carried out.
  • If all eight major tests happen successfully without any major glitch, then the launch could be happening in a 2024 timeframe.