In 1984, when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked the first Indian astronaut in space what India looked like from above, he told her: “Sare jahan se achha (the best in the world).” The astronaut was Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma who flew aboard a Soyuz T11 spacecraft on April 2, 1984, and became the first Indian to journey into space. He spent 7 days, 21 hours and 40 minutes aboard the Salyut 7 orbital station along with two Soviet astronauts and till date, remains the only Indian to do so. Since then, it has taken almost 36 years for the country to plan to send another Indian to Space.
When the Gangayaan programme was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address in 2018, Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma had this to say, which sums up the entire nation’s sentiment. “It was an immense relief to hear the Prime Minister announce that India will be sending a manned mission by 2022. I’ve been waiting for this kind of announcement because we have not had a manned space programme since I went up. I am extremely thrilled that it has finally happened.”
The most common query in the minds of most Indians is, why has it taken more than three decades to plan this mission? The major hurdles were the delay in sanctioning of budget required for the projects, the technical challenges involved, the time duration for training, and the human factor. How we have managed to overcome all these hurdles is likewise an important aspect.
Financing A Manned Mission
A manned spacecraft would require about ₹ 124 billion (US$1.77 billion) over a period of seven to eight years. The Government released ₹ 500 million (US$7 million) in 2007-2008 but nothing much happened till 2018. In December 2018, the government approved further ₹ 100 billion (US$1.5 billion) for a 7-day crewed flight of three astronauts to take place by 2023. that is how the programme was kicked started again. It is equally important to know that prior to the manned spacecraft, two unmanned spacecrafts will be launched. So, one can imagine the finances involved. For a developing country like ours, its always difficult to balance out development and basic needs of its citizens. So, it’s a choice between basic needs and development.
Technical Challenges
We, as a country, had to indigenously manufacture a launch pad, propulsive systems, crew module, re-entry space capsule, safe crew ejection mechanism in case of rocket failure, and the powerful GSLV-MkIII launch vehicle besides developing flight suit and conduct pad abort test. We successfully achieved all of this, thus removing all the hurdles for this ambitious project. The designing of re-entry space capsule was crucial as due to the friction caused by re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, the space capsule experiences tremendous heat. The heat seal of the vehicle protects the crew and the temperature inside the capsule is regulated. However, the flames and blaze it causes are clearly visible. The entire capsule is enveloped in flames and the ablative layers it is coated with keeps slicing off. During re-entry, when the parachute opens to slow down the capsule’s speed after re-entering Earth, it has to be at the correct time and strong enough to sustain high forces. There were many such technical challenges which had to be confronted, that too with no scope of any error.
Human Factor and Training
Experiencing zero gravity is a major challenge. The human body takes roughly 36 to 48 hours to acclimatise to zero gravity once in space. There is medical problem like space sickness, similar to travel sickness. When you return, it takes about that much time to re-adapt to gravity. Moreover, it is physically impossible to create zero gravity on Earth, therefore, all acclimatisation and adjustments have to be adapted to on the job when one is in space.
Similarly, the gravitational forces one experiences during take-off or re-entry, are high and last longer than in aircraft and tolerance has to be developed for the higher g-forces experienced during space flight. The G forces are experienced when being launched into space, and on re-entering Earth.
To overcome all these issues, a one-year training of selected four Indian Air Force officers commenced in February 2019 in Russia’s Zvyozdny Gorodok city near Moscow. Once these officers complete this training, they will be further trained at Bengaluru for module specific training. There will be three main parts to the training in India: a module on the overall project, a module for crew members, and a module on the flight hardware and software, each one being more complex than the preceding one.
Genesis of Manned Mission
Gaganyaan (‘Sky Craft’), the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme, was accepted and formally announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2018. It will be the first Indian manned orbital spacecraft, intended to be the formative spacecraft of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme. It is interesting to see when actually the planning for this ambitious project started.
Snapshotsfrom the historic flight of Soyuz T-11 spacecraft.
Far left: Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma with Soviet cosmonauts Yury Malyshev and Gennady Strekalov. Centre: Upon arrival. back on earth. Left: Sharma shares a light moment with Soviet compatriots.
Preliminary studies and technological development of Gaganyaan started in 2006 under the generic name “Orbital Vehicle”. The plan was to design a simple capsule with an endurance of about a week in space, a capacity of two astronauts, and a splashdown landing after re-entry. The design was finalised by March 2008 and was submitted to the Government of India for funding. The funding for the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme was sanctioned in February 2009, but it fell short of full political support and obtained limited developmental funding. Initially, the first unmanned flight of the orbital vehicle was proposed to be in 2013, then it was revised to 2016. However, in April 2012 it was reported that funding problems placed the future of the project in serious doubt; and in August 2013 it was announced that all manned spaceflight efforts by India had been designated as being “off ISRO’s priority list”. In February 2014, a substantial budget increase was announced and the project was reconsidered.
Gaganyaan Logistics
The crew module manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) had its first experimental flight on December 18, 2014 without a crew. By May 2019, the design of the crew module was complete.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will provide support for critical human-centric systems and technologies like space grade food, crew healthcare, radiation measurement and protection, parachutes for the safe recovery of the crew module and fire suppression system. On June 11, 2020, it was announced that while the first without crew Gaganyaan launch has been delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic in India, overall timeline for crewed launches is expected to remain unaffected, i.e., the launch of manned mission by 2023.
ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) needs to complete at least three key tests during unmanned mission prior to undertaking manned mission, which include an air drop test for the parachute system that will demonstrate the ability to successfully recover an orbiting space capsule; a flight of the test vehicle; and an abort test to demonstrate the escape of the crew in case of an emergency at the launch pad.
The three astronauts who went to space aboard Soyuz T-11 spacecraft on April 2, 1984
In its maiden manned mission, ISRO’s largely autonomous 3.7 t (8,200 lb) capsule will orbit the Earth at 400 km (250 mi) altitude for up to seven days with a two or three-person crew on board and will rotate around the Earth every 90 minutes. The human spaceflight will take 16 minutes to reach the orbit. It will help in providing employment to 15,000 people and out of them, 861 will be from ISRO. The three astronauts will be able to see India from space every 24 hours, while they conduct experiments on micro-gravity. For its return, the capsule will take 36 hours, and will land in the Arabian Sea, just off the coast of Gujarat.
The Rs 10,000-crore mission will be a turning point in India’s space journey. ISRO has developed some critical technologies and already successfully tested few, like re-entry mission capability, crew escape system, crew module configuration, thermal protection system, deceleration and flotation system, and sub-systems of life support system required for Mission Gaganyaan. ISRO will perform four biological and two physical science experiments related to micro-gravity during the Gaganyaan mission. The whole nation will definitely look forward to a successful launch of two unmanned flight missions and then the culmination of a historic first; Indian manned orbital spacecraft mission.
*The writer is an Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Shaurya Chakra awardee and retired as SAASO from Maintenance Command, Nagpur in 2017. He landed Antonov An-32 aircraft on High Altitude Advanced Landing Grounds (HAALGs) in Daulat Beg Oldi, Fukche and Nyoma.
1 Comment
Great Article.