India will launch humans into space by next year, says Union minister

Union Minister Jitendra Singh

India will send humans to space by next year with the country having completed preparations for the Gaganyaan mission, said Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology.

"Next year, one or two human beings of Indian origin will go to space," said Singh during a press conference on Sunday.

"Before that, two trials will be conducted by the end of this year. The first trial will be empty and in the second a female robot (astronaut) will be sent whose name is Vyommitra," he added.

The Indian astronauts will be sent to space on the basis of the results of the trials. If successful, Gaganyaan will make India the fourth nation in the world to send humans to space after the US, Russia, and China.

More than 500 industries are involved in the project undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), with several research modules including indigenous health research module.

Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in his Independence Day Speech in 2018 declared that India would send astronauts to space by 2022, the mission was delayed due to pandemic-induced restrictions. Preparations are in full swing to achieve the mission by 2023, said the minister.

The objective of Gaganyaan is to demonstrate the country’s capability to send humans to low earth orbit onboard an Indian launch vehicle and bring them back to earth safely.