Mission Gaganyaan

Context:

The 1^st batch of crew recovery team of Mission Gaganyaan completed Phase-1 of training at Indian Navy’s Water Survival Training Facility (WSTF) at Kochi.

About Gaganyaan Mission:

• It envisages undertaking the demonstration of indigeneous capability to undertake human spaceflight to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• India:4^th country to send a man to space, after the erstwhile USSR, the US and China.
• ISRO’s plan – 2 unmanned and 1 manned missions –
  • 1^st uncrewed mission under Gaganyaan – 2023 or early 2024
  • 2^nd unmanned mission “Vyommitra” will carry a robot
  • Followed by the manned mission.

• Purpose of uncrewed mission – Technology demonstration, safety and reliability verification and study the performance of systems before crewed flight.
• Purpose of robot – Mimic the space crew activities set for the human flight mission in order to assess all the possible challenges prior to the final mission.
• Weight: About 8000 kg
• Major new technologies –
  • Human rated launch vehicle
  • Crew escape systems
  • Habitable orbital module
  • Life support system
  • Crew selection & training
  • Crew management
• 2 parts of orbital module – Crew Module (CM) and Service Module (SM)
• Gaganyaan would be smaller in size than the current Russian Soyuz, Chinese Shenzhou, NASA’s planned Orion spacecraft.

About GSLV Mark III:

• It is a 3-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO.
• The vehicle has 2 solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage.
• It is designed to carry 4-ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of the GSLV Mk II.

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With reference to the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), consider the following statements:

1. IRNSS has three satellites in geostationary and four satellites in geosynchronous orbits.

2. IRNSS covers entire India and about 5500 sq. km beyond its borders.

3. India will have its own satellite navigation system with full global coverage by the middle of 2019.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

[UPSC Civil Services – Prelims 2018]

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) None

Source: PIB