India Plans To Launch Its Own Space Station

• 13 Jun 2019

Why is it in News?

The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on 13 June that India is planning to have its own space station and the details of the project will be worked out after the first manned mission, Gaganyaan, scheduled in 2022.

Relevance of the News: It signifies India’s vision and future plans of accessing the space and indigenization of Indian space activities.

About the Mission:

• The proposed space station would probably have a weight of 20 tonnes and will serve as a facility where astronauts can stay for 15-20 days.
• The space station would be placed in an orbit 400 km above earth and the time frame for its launch is 5-7 years after Gaganyaan.
• As a part of preparation of space station, ISRO would launch a small module for microgravity experiments.

Gaganyaan:

• Gaganyaan is a crewed orbital spacecraft which is expected to carry three people into the space for seven days. The project is expected to be completed and launched by 2022 and Rs 10000 crore have been approved for it.
• The spacecraft would be placed in a low earth orbit of 300-400 km.
• With this, India could potentially become the fourth country to send a man to space, after the erstwhile USSR, the US and China.
• Gaganyaan would be launched with a ‘GSLV Mk-III’ which is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle.
• Prior to the main launch, two unmanned missions would be undertaken, one in December 2022 and the second, six months after that.