(a) whether the Government has taken any steps or fixed any timeline/target for launching a manned spaced mission in the near future;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has made new plans/projects/ programmes for the development of space science, space research and Satellite technology in the country; and
(d) if so, the details thereof for the last five years?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PG & PENSIONS AND IN THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
(DR. JITENDRA SINGH):
(a) & (b) Yes Sir, the targeted launch for crewed space mission (Gaganyaan) was before 75th anniversary of Indian Independence in year 2022. This is to be preceded by two uncrewed missions.
The launch of first uncrewed mission is delayed due to the first and second wave of COVID pandemic lockdowns which resulted in supply disruptions in raw material supply and delays in realization of hardware across various industries.
Test vehicle flight for the validation of Crew Escape System performance and the 1st uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan (G1) are scheduled during the beginning of 2nd half of 2022. This will be followed by second uncrewed mission and first crewed mission.
(c) Yes, Sir. Department of Space has charted out short-term and long-term plans in the areas of Space Transportation Systems, Satellite Communication & Navigation, Earth Observation, Space Sciences & Planetary Exploration, Capacity Building and Space-based applications.
(d) During the last five years (i.e., April 2016 – March 2021), a total number of 27 satellite missions and 25 launch vehicle missions were successfully accomplished. This includes first operational flight of India''s heavy lift launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III which placed India’s second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2 into orbit; Advanced Cartography satellite, Cartosat-3; completion of NavIC constellation; launch of South Asia Satellite; launch of heaviest and most-advanced high throughput communication satellite, GSAT-11 and launch of record 104 satellites in a single PSLV flight. Apart from these, three technology demonstrators namely Scramjet engine, Re-Usable Launch Vehicle and test for Crew Escape System were also successfully demonstrated during this period
In addition, 286 commercial satellites from domestic as well as foreign customers and 8 student satellites from Indian universities were also launched during the aforementioned period.
****