Ahead Of ISRO’s Manned-Mission, Indian Picked For Travel To International Space Station

Russia has offered to ferry an Indian astronaut to International Space Station (ISS) for training purposes, The Hindu has reported. The Indian astronaut may travel on the Soyuz spacecraft. The news is based on a report published in Russian media.

“The Russian side has offered Indian colleagues to conduct a short visit to the ISS. The flight should take place in 2022 before or after India’s independent manned space mission. The agreement is expected to be signed in the near future,” the state-run Sputnik agency said.

The news is important in the light of recent announcement of the Prime Minister during his independence day address regarding an indigenous manned mission by India by the year 2022. The Indian mission has been called ‘Gaganyaan’.

Earlier in September, the Indo-French joint working grouping in the area of space research was announced during the Bengaluru Space Expo launch. In future, Indian astronauts could be trained in specialised facilities such as CADMOS Centre for Development of Microgravity Applications and Space Operations. The agreement also includes the exchange of specialised personnel.