Union Minister Jitendra Singh
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that India will launch two unmanned missions next year by the end of 2022 before the manned space flight program ‘Gaganyaan’.
Sharing the status of other space projects, Singh – during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha – said the Venus mission is planned for 2022, while the solar mission for 2022-23 and the space station by 2030. The Minister of State in the Department of Space said space projects have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In the next year, we are going to have two unmanned missions before Gaganyaan is flown. That too is in plan. Usually SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) is followed. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it got delay,” he said.
India will launch the first unmanned mission to Gaganyaan in late 2022, possibly early next year, he said, adding that it will be accompanied by robots named ‘Vayumitra’.
“After this, we will probably have Gaganyaan in 2023, which will undoubtedly place India in the elite club of nations, fourth only to the US, China and Russia,” he said.
The minister further said that the Gaganyaan program will be different from other manned missions undertaken by other countries in the sense that it will be more cost-effective and inclusive.
The program will establish India as a leading nation and also improve the country’s capabilities as far as its robotic missions are concerned, he added and added that it will also inspire youth and start-ups .
Apart from the Gaganyaan programme, the minister said, “We are going to have several other missions. We will have a Venus mission by 2023. Soon, we will have a solar mission called ‘Aditya Solar Mission’ for 2022-23.”
He said that Chandrayaan was delayed due to the pandemic and it will probably be launched by next year.
“By 2030, we will probably be able to set up a space station, which will be unique in its kind,” he said. He said that the journey to climb to the top of India by space route has already begun.
Responding to a supplementary question whether ISRO has identified 17 technologies for use in the Gaganyaan mission at a cost less than the start-up, the minister said, “There are going to be several research modules with Gaganyaan and it will include start-ups. will include up to more than 500 industries”.
He said that for the first time after the country’s independence, private industries would be involved in space technology.
“As a result, we are now going to have a number of partnerships for the nanosatellites that we are trying to put into our missions in collaboration with ISRO,” he said.
He said that a host of technologies can be innovated in a wide range of sectors connected with the industry, paving the way for the emergence of a new economy through space technology.
The minister also informed the Upper House that India has so far launched 42 foreign satellites from 34 countries and earned a revenue of USD 56 million (equivalent to one million 10 lakh).
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