Four IAF men to train as astronauts for Gaganyaan mission: ISRO chief K Sivan

Bengaluru: This year is going to be an eventful year for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan on Wednesday, adding that four astronauts have been selected to undergo training in Russia for the Gaganyaan mission.

"We had good progress on Gaganyaan in 2019, many of the designs were completed. Four astronauts have been identified for the training purpose. The training for the astronauts who are from the Indian Air Force will be planned in the third week of January which will take place in Russia," said Sivan.

He also stated that Chandrayaan-3's configuration will be almost similar to Chandrayaan-2 but will have a rover with a propulsion module.

"In Chandrayaan-2 we had orbiter, lander and rover configuration but the Chandrayaan-3 will be having a lander and rover with a propulsion module. The work is being carried out very smoothly," he said.

Sivan further added that Chandrayaan-3's lander and craft cost is approximately Rs 250 crore, whereas the launch cost will be around Rs 350 crore. So, the total cost will be around Rs 600 crore.

ISRO has asked the government for Rs 14,000 crore budget for the 2020 projects.

"Just like last year, this year is also going to be an eventful year for ISRO. This year is going to the year of Chandrayan-3 and Gaganyaan. We have planned another satellite for this year i.e. GSAT 20. Many targets have been planned for 2020. For Gaganyan many systems need to be tested before flight. Crew training is another major activity that is going to happen this year," said Sivan.

Sivan further added that ISRO is planning to undertake many major projects, new developments and at the same time launch the satellites required for societal purpose as well.