Politics

Gaganyaan Mission: Modi Reveals Names of Four Astronauts

The identities of four pilots training for the country’s historic “Gaganyaan” human spaceflight program were made public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The pilots are Group Captain P Balakrishnan Nair, Wing Commander S Shukla, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, and Group Captain Angad Pratap. The four astronaut-designates also received “astronaut wings” from the PM. “I’m happy I got to meet these astronauts and present them to the country today. Let me extend my congratulations to them on behalf of the entire country. Prime Minister Modi said, “You are the pride of today’s India,” in his speech.

He went on to say, “India’s accomplishments in the space industry are raising the young people in the country with a scientific temperament.” At Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), Prime Minister Modi made a brief visit to the Gaganyaan Mission development. S. Somanath, the chairman of ISRO, Federal Minister Muraleedharan, and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stand next to him.

About the Gaganyaan mission

The first manned space mission from India, Gaganyaan, is scheduled to launch in 2024 or 2025. After a three-day mission in a 400-kilometer orbit, the project intends to safely return a three-person crew to Earth by landing in Indian Ocean waters. An ISRO press release states that the mission is carried out using an optimal plan that considers the intellectual ability of university and research institutions, industry expertise, internal knowledge, and cutting-edge technology accessible to international organizations.

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The human rating of ISRO’s CE20 cryogenic engine was successfully finished last week, greatly assisting India’s attempt to launch the mission. On February 13, 2024, ISRO completed the final round of ground qualification testing, marking a major advancement towards the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine. The human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle, designed for the Gaganyaan missions, has a cryogenic stage powered by a CE20 engine. The ISRO stated in a statement that the last test was the eighth in a series of vacuum ignition experiments that were conducted at the High Altitude Test Facility at To simulate flight conditions, the ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, is being used.