Blitz Bureau
OVER the next three weeks, India is targeting to send its first uncrewed or experimental mission as part of Gaganyaan – which envisages a demonstration of ISRO’s human spaceflight capability – while a crewed spaceflight mission is targeted for October-December of 2026, the Rajya Sabha was informed.
Sharing details of the Stipulated Timeline for the Gaganyaan Mission in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said, “The first uncrewed (experimental) mission is targeted by the end of 2024. Further, uncrewed missions are targeted for Q3 of 2025 and Q1 of 2026 respectively.”
Singh said for the first uncrewed mission, solid and liquid Propulsion Stages of human-rated launch vehicles were ready for flight integration. “C32 Cryogenic stage is nearing completion. Crew Module and Service Module structure realisation completed. Flight integration activities are in progress,” he said. Singh identified a shortage of semiconductor components as one of the major challenges associated with the project.
“Major challenges and risks are related to the seamless supply of raw materials, semiconductor components and timely deliveries of hardware from industries,” said Singh. Sharing the details of steps taken to counter the challenges, the MoS said, “Multiple sources have been identified for the supply of critical elements for the mission. The criticalities with regards to the timely delivery of subsystems are monitored closely for the intervention of higher management.”
