In addition to revealing the identities of four astronauts involved in India’s human space flight mission Gaganyaan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated today that the country is expanding its space in the global order.
At a ceremony held today at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, the Prime Minister awarded astronaut wings to the four people who were chosen for the space mission. Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla are the four astronaut-designates chosen for the Gaganyaan mission.
The three-person crew will be sent into Low Earth Orbit and returned to Earth after three days as part of the human space flight project. The astronauts chosen for the mission have been trained in technical knowledge as well as physical fitness to ensure they stay well during the mission.
“The country has come to know about the four Gaganyaan passengers. These are not just four names or four people. These are four powers who will take the aspirations of 140 crore Indians to space,” the Prime Minister said. “Forty years later, an Indian is going to space. But this time, the timing, the countdown and the rocket belong to us,” he added. Earlier, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma (retired) went to the space in 1984 as part of a Soviet mission.
The Prime Minister claimed that the Gaganyaan mission will propel our space industry to new heights at a time when India’s economy is predicted to grow to become the third largest in the world.
He also mentioned the significant contribution that female scientists have made to the field of space technology. “In the space industry, India’s Nari Shakti is essential. Without women scientists, no such mission—whether it is Chandrayaan or Gaganyaan—can be envisioned,” he declared.
The Prime Minister claimed that India’s space industry achievement was not only fostering a scientific temperament in the next generation but also assisting the country in becoming a major global force in the twenty-first century by demonstrating notable advancements in a variety of fields.
