Preparations have been completed for the launch of Gaganyaan mission by the end of this year. However, ISRO Chairman S Somnath said on Friday that we will have to take cautious steps regarding Gaganyaan. He emphasized that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is taking full caution to avoid any risk. He mentioned a NASA mission under which veteran astronauts like Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are still stranded in space.
Gaganyaan is India’s first manned mission, which has recently been approved by the Union Cabinet. Citing the example of Boeing Starliner, S Somanath said, “We would not want the same thing to happen to us as happened with Boeing Starliner. That is why we need to be very careful.”
Let us tell you that after a long wait, NASA’s Boeing Starliner flew to space with two astronauts in June this year. However, due to a problem in the spacecraft’s thruster and helium leak, it failed to bring the astronauts back to Earth. Because of this, both astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are still in space and they will have to stay there till next year because the US space agency NASA has described their return as very risky. India is learning from this mission of NASA.
Apart from Gaganyaan, S Somanath also stressed on the study of planet Venus and said that “research on Mars and Venus is necessary to secure the future of our coming generations.” Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) is also one of the four important projects approved by the Union Cabinet recently, which has received approval of Rs 1,236 crore. This mission will be launched in 2028 and it will be launched from the current Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3).
Somnath said that Russia, China and Japan are also preparing to send missions to Venus by 2030. In such a situation, India has set a target to launch its Venus mission by 2028. He said, “Although Venus is close, its atmosphere is extremely challenging.” S Somnath explained that the atmosphere of Venus is 100 times more pressure than the Earth, due to which it is considered challenging.
S Somanath also appreciated the growing interest of startups in the space sector and said, “Today we have seen many startups building their own satellites. This is a change that is happening in the space industry.” India’s space sector is progressing day by day and will achieve even greater successes in the times to come.
(Input Agency)