SOURCE: INDIATIMES
Four Indian astronauts are undergoing general space training programme at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC) and are also studying the systems of the Soyuz MD crewed spacecraft.
The four Indian astronaut elects, who have been training in Russia for the Gaganyaan project are all set to enter the last leg of the training module in Russia. According to a TOI report, the astronauts began their course in Moscow on February 10 this year.
Glaskosmos which has a contract with ISRO’s Human Flight Space Centre (HSFC) told TOI that the four men shortlisted to go to space as part of India’s Ganganyaan programme are scheduled to return at the end of March 2021.
Dmitry Loskutiv, director-general, said that astronauts should be passing the test in GCTC centrifuge and hyperbaric chamber module. “So far, Indian astronauts have accomplished training on crew actions in case of an abnormal descent module landing in the forest and marshy areas in winter (February 2020), on the water surface (June 020), in the steppe in summer (July 2020).”
Glasvkosmos has earlier said that the training programme would be complex and that all its elements are important, he adds that only a combination of aspects prepares a person or spaceflight.
The Rs 10,000-crore ambitious project is expected to be launched in 2022. Dmitry Loskutov added that they also completed training for short term weightlessness mode on boar the II-76MDK laboratory aircraft (June 2020).
They were also trained to lift aboard a helicopter while evacuating from the decent module landing point (July 2020).
“The study of Russian language, configuration, structure and systems of the Soyuz crewed spacecraft are all regular courses of their training,” he added.
Upon their return from Russia, the four men will have a rigorous schedule and are likely to train in Bengaluru, Mumba and Pune. While IAF’s Institute OF Aerospace Medicine (IAM) in Bengaluru will provide some training, the Indian army’s Army Sports Institute (ASI) Pune and navy’s Institute of Naval Medicine are also expected to be a part of it.
