Gaganyaan Is In Progress, India's First Manned Mission Possible By 2025, Says ISRO Chief

S Somanath, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), gave an update on the Gaganyaan programme, India's first human spaceflight programme, on Thursday. He said that the programme is in progress and that India's first manned mission is likely to take place by 2025.

Somanath said that ISRO is likely to conduct the first leg of the Gaganyaan programme by the end of September or early October. This leg will demonstrate the functioning of the crew module and the escape capability of the crew. After this, several test missions will be performed before the final leg of the Gaganyaan programme can be conducted.

The Gaganyaan programme aims to send three Indian astronauts to low Earth orbit for a period of three days. The astronauts will be launched into space on a human-rated version of the Indian launch vehicle, the LVM3.

Somanath also spoke about the Aditya-L1 mission, which is a mission to the Sun. He said that the mission is getting ready for launch in September. The Aditya-L1 mission will study the Sun's corona, which is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere.

The Gaganyaan and Aditya-L1 missions are two of the most important space missions that India is currently undertaking. These missions will help India to further its space exploration capabilities and to contribute to the global understanding of space.