Bengaluru: ISRO Sets Up Human Space Flight Centre For Gaganyaan Mission, Unnikrishnan Nair Named As Director

In order to implement the Rs 9,023 crore space programme to send Indians to space, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has set up a Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru. The centre will facilitate the launch of the nation’s first ever manned mission to space by 2021, Indian Express reported.

The Gaganyaan mission aims to put three astronauts from India into the orbit of the earth. This project will see all the human-related programme at ISRO. Unnikrishnan Nair has been named as the director of the centre.

The Indian Express quoted ISRO chairman K Sivan as saying, “Nair was earlier with the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. The project director for Gaganyaan will be R Hutton, who is now project director for the PSLV programme.”

Furthermore, he added, “When you are talking about Gaganyaan, we have to select a human being, train him and send him to space in a condition that is conducive for him to live and then return to earth. There are two aspects that we have to build — engineering and human science. The human science aspect is new for ISRO.”

Alongside Gaganyaan, the parallel activity of human space programme will function. The first unmanned mission will be in December 2020 and the second flight will be in July 2021. December 2021 is the target for the first manned mission.

Also read: Not Just A ‘Manned’ Space Mission: Women Astronauts To Be Part Of 2021 Gaganyaan Mission, Says ISRO