ISRO targets first Gaganyaan mission launch by December: Chairman

ISRO has targeted to launch the first mission of the ambitious Gaganyaan project by December, a top official said at Sriharikota on Friday.

Currently, some of the rocket hardware for the human space programme has reached the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and the integration of the crew module is happening at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum, ISRO Chairman S Somanath said.

"Today, we are working on the first mission of the Gaganyaan called G1. The first unmanned mission. The status today is the rocket, the S200 stage, the L1, C32 stage are all at Satish Dhawan Space Centre," he said.

He said the Crew Module integration was going on at VSSC Trivandrum while the Crew Escape hardware was also ready.

"So, we have to complete with full wiring and testing should be done. Our target is by November the whole system will reach here, possibly by December launch will happen," he said, responding to a query.

Somanath was talking to reporters after successfully launching the third and final developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle that placed the Earth Observation Satellite into orbit earlier in the day.

The success of the third and final developmental flight will pave the way for the launch of commercial missions using the smallest vehicle by ISRO's commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL).

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Today's successful SSLV mission allows for a partnership with ISRO for placing satellites into low Earth orbit. Besides, it would also allow a company to gain knowledge on rockets, launch vehicles, and satellites in the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle missions.

Responding to a query about the requirements for industries to partner with ISRO to take up commercial launches of SSLV missions, Somanath said a day-long meeting was recently held with the industry.

"I am hoping that the first technology transfer will happen in India between ISRO and industry. The Request for Interest (RFI) was released and as a single (entity) or as consortia, a company can show interest on the technology transfer (from ISRO) and what were the expectations from ISRO and how to qualify for such missions," he said.

Interactions held with the industry revealed a huge amount of interest in space, he added.

"We told them it will be a huge challenge for anyone to learn rocketry from scratch. It is not just transferring technology, we are transferring the knowledge on how things are done (at ISRO). It is not the drawings alone, it is the knowledge behind those drawings we transfer to industry," according to Somanath, also the Secretary, Department of Space.

Through industry partnerships, ISRO will teach them how to build a rocket, he said, and added that the industry should qualify as per the criteria put forth by ISRO.

The company should possess manufacturing capabilities, and the manufacturing facilities and financial strengths of a company would be assessed, he said.

"We will add weightage and marks based on the performance of the company and based on that the companies will be shortlisted and a contract would be given to them after the companies which have to pay a technology transfer fee," he said.

Some of the unique features of SSLVs are—low-cost access to Space, low turn-around time and flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, 'launch on demand' feasibility and minimal launch infrastructure requirements.