BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday bestowed the astronaut wings and introduced to the world the four astronauts-elect: Group Captain Prashanth Nair, Group Captain Angad Prathap, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan and Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla.
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All four, short-listed four years ago, are Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilots from Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) in Bengaluru.
The TOI had reported in its Tuesday edition, based on sources that the astronauts-elect are Prashanth Nair, Angad Prathap and Ajit Krishnan, whom the PM introduced, but the fourth name sources had indicated to TOI, test pilot Chavan (whose full name was not immediately available), was not among the selected four — the fourth name was Shukla.
“After 40 years, an Indian will go to space, but this time, the time is also ours, the countdown is also ours. In every nation’s progress, there comes a time when the present introduces its people to the future. Today is such a time for India. Our current generation is blessed because they are able to see success in water, on ground and even in space. This is the beginning of a new era, where India is increasing its space in the global order and it is very visible even in the space sector,” Modi said.
“Last year, India became the first country to land in the south pole region of Moon. Today, Shivshakti point introduces the whole world to India’s success. Today, we are part of another historic moment. The country, for the first time, got introduced to the four astronauts-elect. These are not just four names or four people. They are those who will take 140 crore aspirations to space,” he added.
Congratulating all the astronauts-elect, PM said their names will be etched as part of the 21st century and commended them for training rigorously for the past four years. He said yoga will also play an important role in their training as it will help keep a healthy body and mind, which is crucial.
Isro chairman S Somanath said: “Three important projects are being dedicated to the nation which have been completed on time. These mark significant additions to Isro infrastructure. We’ve seen tremendous progress made by Isro with the kind of missions, especially, Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1 which made the world turn back to look at India. The 2047 vision made public has ambitious projects to make India Viksit Bharat and Isro will work towards achieving this.”
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The projects Somanath referred to are the PSLV integration facility at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota; semi-cryogenics integrated engine and stage test facility at Isro propulsion complex in Mahendragiri; and Trisonic wind tunnel at VSSC. He added: “This is a golden letter day for Isro having the PM amid us. This is the first time a PM is visiting this Isro facility in 40 years.
In July 2019, TOI first reported that all astronaut-elects for Gaganyaan would be test pilots given that it was India’s first human spaceflight mission and by virtue of their specialisations, test pilots have always been called upon to study deeply all that can probably go wrong in something that has not been tried before.
While a large number of test pilots had enrolled to become astronauts, 12 of them made it past the first level of selection completed in Sept 2019 in Bengaluru. The selection was done at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM), an institute under the Indian Air Force (IAF).
After multiple rounds of selection, the IAM and Isro then shortlisted the final four. By early 2020, Isro sent the four test pilots to Russia for initial training, which after some delay induced by Covid-19, was completed in 2021.
Since then, the four have been undergoing various training modules in India. Isro has tied up with multiple agencies, including from the armed forces for the same. Isro has also been working on equipping its Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) with various simulators for the training. They are also continuing with their regular flying with IAF to remain fit, while other fitness regimes are also part of their routine.
“I request the citizens and specifically the media to cooperate in the future. The astronauts-elect have continuously done penance for the past four years. They have done this without making themselves visible. They still have a long way to go, there are many challenges. But now, they’ve become celebrities, I know people will want autographs and selfies and the media would also want to know everything about their lives. But this could be detrimental to their achievements. The real story is beginning now. We need to cooperate with them and their families so they can focus on enabling the ambitious goal,” Modi said.
During my review of Gaganyaan I found that most of the systems used will be made in India. As India strives to become the third largest economy, the space sector, through indigenisation of systems like in Gaganyaan, is enabling that.
He also reiterated how the space sector is giving preference for “women power” and that there’s no mission, whether Chandrayaan or Gaganyaan, that can be conceived without the participation of women. There are more than 500 women in leadership positions in Isro. I congratulate all of them.
“The space sector is also kindling scientific temper among the youth. There are many children who look at Isro and want to become scientists. The countdown inspires lakhs of children. The aeronautical engineer in every home that is flying paper planes wants to grow up and become space scientists,” he said.
“During Chandrayaan-2 landing, a lot of children watched it and learnt a lot of things. And then came Aug 23, 2024, which inspired a lot of Children and we’ve now named it National Space Day. You’ve had many records in Space. You reached Mars in the first attempt. We’ve launched more than 100 satellites in a single mission. You’ve sent Aditya-L1 to an orbit that’s 15-lakh-km away, not many countries have been able to do this. And in the short time of 2024 so far, you’ve already launched XpoSAT and Insat-3DS,” Modi said.
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In the next 10 years, Indian space economy will increase five-fold to touch $40 billion. India will become a big commercial hub for space and we will return to Moon in the coming years. We’ll bring samples back from there to increase our understanding and we’ll also explore Venus. By 2035, we’ll have a space station. And not just this, within this Amrit Kaal an Indian astronaut will land on Moon using an Indian spacecraft and rocket.” the Prime Minister further added.
