Science
Process To Get Two New Simulators For Gaganyaan Astronaut Training In Progress: Report
- ISRO is in the process of getting the static mock-up simulator and the dynamic training simulator, which offer training and experience such as on the actual flight to the Gaganyaan astronaut trainees.
Graphic of a simulator for Gaganyaan astronaut training (Photo: ISRO via Chethan Kumar/Twitter)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working to bring in two key simulators as part of astronaut training for the Gaganyaan programme, according to a report in The Times of India.
The Astronaut Training Facility (ATF) already has two simulators in place. Simulator training is part of the overall crew training at the Bengaluru facility. It helps to prepare the four astronaut-elects to deal with a wide range of mission and flight scenarios before they get on to the real thing.
Among the simulators identified, ISRO is in the process of getting the static mock-up simulator and the dynamic training simulator.
According to reporter Chethan Kumar, the static mock-up simulator "provides a close to realistic ambiance and acquaintance with the crew module, including the distance and approach estimation of the crew control buttons and display systems."
The simulator, thus, will provide trainees with the experience of operating in the actual crew module environment.
The dynamic training simulator, on the other hand, acquaints the astronauts in training with the motion sensations they would experience on the actual flight, which is pencilled in for the fourth quarter of 2024.
So, the trainees on this simulator would feel the pushes and pulls of the spacecraft, such as jerks and vibrations, as it traces the flight trajectory, with all the different stages, it is programmed to follow.
The two simulators already deployed at the ATF are, as per the Times of India report, the independent training simulator and virtual reality training simulator.
When Gaganyaan mission-specific crew training had commenced, ISRO had mentioned virtual reality simulators and static mock-up simulators as part of the "modern training methods" they would employ during training.
Gaganyaan astronaut trainees have to undergo a three-semester curriculum, which will familiarise them with all the relevant subjects, such as the human-rated launch vehicle and launch complex procedures, orbital module systems, space medicine, the microgravity experience, recovery operations, and survival training.
The trainees, who were picked from a pool of Indian Air Force test pilots through a rigorous selection process, recently wrapped up semester one.
The Gaganyaan programme aims to demonstrate India’s human spaceflight capability.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the programme in his Independence Day address of 2018.
A three-member crew will be launched to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission before being brought back safely down to Earth. They will land at sea in India.
The final launch with Indian astronauts is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2024.
India will look to achieve success with its Gaganyaan mission before shifting its focus later towards developing capability for sustained human presence in space.
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