Success of Chandrayaan launch vehicle gives Gaganyaan a leg-up

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Last Updated16/07/2023

With a human-rated Launch Vehicle Mark (LVM) to be used for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission, the LVM-3’s successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3 gained significance, as it has further enhanced the reliability of the launch vehicle.

ISRO’s Gaganyaan project is expected to demonstrate India’s human spaceflight capability by launching three astronauts to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission, and then bringing them safely back to earth, landing them in Indian seas.
- The first trial (uncrewed flight) for Gaganyaan is being planned by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
- This will be followed by sending Vyom Mitra, a humanoid and then with the crew onboard.
This manned mission will be the first of ISRO’s human spaceflight missions.
- The US, Russia and China are the only three countries to have conducted human spaceflights yet.
Launched by: ISRO's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV Mk III (3 stages heavy-lift vehicle).

It will help India in achieving self-reliance, in line with the vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat
It will also boost the capacity development in launching satellites under the Make in India Initiative.
It will reduce India’s dependence on foreign cooperation in this direction.
It will also enhance the research and development (R&D) at science and technology levels especially in the space sector.
It is in line with India’s progress towards a sustained and affordable human and robotic programme to explore the solar system and beyond.
Gaganyaan will focus on regional needs because one International Space Station (ISS) may not be enough to cater to global requirements.
The programme will strengthen international partnerships and global security through the sharing of challenging and peaceful goals.