India to launch Gaganyaan mission by end of 2023 or in 2024: MoS Jitendra Singh

India plans to launch an unmanned mission and send a female robot in the first and second missions, respectively, preceding the Gaganyaan human space-flight programme by the end of 2023 or in 2024, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday (May 18).

He unveiled the country’s ambitious space project’s timeline during a media interaction.

“The first mission will be totally unmanned and after that we will send a female robot in the second one,” he added.

Singh provided insights into the Gaganyaan project’s progress.

Also read: Gaganyaan: ISRO completes human-rated Vikas engine test campaign

“The main Gaganyaan will be launched at the end of 2023 or in 2024. It will be delayed a bit,” Singh told reporters after a function in Jammu.

Singh said that before the actual Gaganyaan mission, “we will send a non-human mission”.

“It is important to go and come back safely. It will land in water. It will ensure the security of the person,” he said.

Indian astronaut on Indian mission

He said that for the first time, an Indian-origin man would be going on an Indian mission.

“Otherwise Rakesh Sharma had gone on a mission but it was a Russian mission. It is an indigenous mission with indigenous astronaut, indigenous technical knowhow, and indigenous funding. We should thank the PM for making funding available to this project. It was delayed due to COVID-19,” he said.

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Singh said the department had thought Gaganyaan would be launched within 75 years of India’s independence “but it was delayed for two years due to Covid. Some of the astronauts were being given training at a Russian institute. They had to come back. The two-stage training is now complete,” he added.

“As the nation’s space agency gears up for these significant milestones, the world eagerly awaits India’s progress in space exploration and the historic moment when Gaganyaan will carry Indian astronauts to the final frontier,” he said.

Plan for lithium extraction in J&K

He also laid down a plan for lithium extraction in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district.

“It is a matter of excitement for us. Let’s see how it evolves in the future. Lithium will be very important to our focus on clean energy in future as a cost-effective source. A meeting is going on in which apart from top scientists, the CSIR director is taking part. She is an expert in the lithium sector herself,” he said.

Also read: Lithium reserves discovered in Jammu and Kashmir in a first for India

The Union minister said that “first we will see the value of it after exploration and then further steps will be taken. It will go into a phased manner. It depends upon the future results. However, we have started this process,” he said.

Green hydrogen mission

He said India had started working in the green hydrogen sector. “The Prime Minister had talked about a green hydrogen mission from the ramparts of the Red Fort. In the next 25 years, we might be exporting green hydrogen from here,” Singh said.

Also read: Centre clears ₹19,744Cr green hydrogen project; to invest ₹8L Cr in first phase

To a question on Pakistan, the BJP leader said, “What Pakistan is doing is nothing new. It has been going on since 1947. Pakistan could not digest that Jammu and Kashmir is part of India. Those who are in power have the compulsion to rake up the Kashmir (issue).”

He said that under the leadership of PM Modi, “India has risen to such a top place in the world, the so-called developed nations are seeing us with respect.”

“Our economy has surpassed Britain’s. In terms of start-up ecosystem, we are Number 3. It is also a fact that the G20 is being held here under the leadership of Modi ji which shows that our status has risen,” he added.

(With agency inputs)