"Indians Going To Space After 40 Years": PM Modi Announces Four Astronauts For Gaganyaan Mission

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (27 February) announced the names of the four astronauts that will be part of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Gaganyaan mission.

These four astronaut designates, currently serving in the Indian Air Force (IAF), are Group Captain Prashanth Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla.

After giving them astronaut wings, PM Modi asked for a standing ovation for them from the audience at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram.

"They are not just four names or four human beings, they are the four powers that are going to take the aspirations of 140 crore Indians to space. An Indian is going to space, after 40 years. This time, the time is ours, the countdown is ours and the rocket is also ours," Modi said.

Earlier, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma went to space on 3 April 1984 aboard Soyuz T-11 under the Soviet Interkosmos programme. To date, he is the only Indian to go to space as an Indian citizen.

The astronauts were selected at IAF’s Institute of Aerospace Medicine. They were trained at Russia’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre from February 2020 to March 2021, Indian Express reported.

They also took training at ISRO’s astronaut facility in Bengaluru. Their IAF training plays a huge role in their preparedness as they have extensive experience working as test pilots.

Gaganyaan will be India's first crewed space mission, where the astronauts will be sent 400 kilometres above the Earth for three days. Their return will include a landing in Indian sea waters.