Space
Gaganyaan Mission
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- India’s first mission to send humans into space and safely return them to Earth.
- Planned target – 2027.
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- A spacecraft will be sent to an altitude of 400 km and will be studied for 3 days.
- If this mission is successful, India will become the 4th country to send humans into space after the US, Russia and China.
- Selected astronauts Prashant Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap, Subhanshu Shukla
- They were given special training in Russia.
Unmanned Missions
- 3 unmanned spacecraft tests will be conducted before sending humans.
- A humanoid robot named Vyomitra will be sent in the first test.
Vyomitra’s capabilities
- It can understand and respond to commands from astronauts.
- It can understand and work in English and Hindi.
- Monitors air pressure, temperature, environmental conditions, etc.
- Operates environmental control and warning systems.
- Performs many human tasks.
- Maintains continuous communication with the Earth Command Center.
- If all unmanned tests are successful, human spaceflight will take place in 2027.
Bharatiya Andarish Station (Indian Space Station)
- After the success of the Gaganyaan project, the “Bharatiya Andarish Station” will be established at an altitude of 400 km above the Earth.
- The Indian Space Station is set to be established by 2035.
India’s early space efforts
- 1963, November 21 – India launched its first research rocket.
- 1984, April 3 – Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to go into space in the Soviet Soyuz T-11.
World Space History – Key Events
- 1926, March 16 – American scientist Robert H. Goddard successfully launched the first liquid-
fueled rocket.
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- 1944, June 20 – Germany’s V-2 rocket reached an altitude of 174 km.
- 1957, October 4 – The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 (the first satellite).
- 1957, November 3 – The dog ‘Laika’ was sent into space by Sputnik 2.
- 1961, April 12 – Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go into space.
- 1969, July 16 – The United States’ Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
