India achieved a significant milestone in its ambitious crewed space mission , Gaganyaan, on Saturday. This accomplishment followed a temporary halt to the originally planned lift-off, as reported by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
ISRO communicated through its X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that they had identified and rectified the reason for the launch delay. They stated, “The Crew Escape System functioned as intended, marking the successful initiation of Mission Gaganyaan.”
ISRO did not disclose the specific cause of the delay, but they initially scheduled the launch for 8 a.m.. According to ISRO, the launch, originally scheduled for 8 a.m. (0230 GMT), ultimately concluded at 10 a.m.
The primary goal of the India Space Mission Gaganyaan is to develop a space capsule capable of sustaining human habitation. This capsule is designed to carry a three-member crew into an orbit 400 km (250 miles) above the Earth’s surface, where they will stay for three days before safely splashing down in the Indian Ocean.
ISRO has expressed its intention to explore avenues for maintaining a continuous human presence in space once the Gaganyaan mission reaches fruition.
The Indian government has allocated around 90 billion Indian rupees ($1 billion) to fund this mission, building on the success of ISRO’s historic achievement in landing its Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the lunar south pole.
While the organization had not revealed the exact schedule, people anticipated that India’s primary spaceport in Sriharikota would host the launch of the Gaganyaan mission by the year 2024.