Advertisement
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his two-day tour of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra, visited the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. As part of the visit, he is set to reveal the names of the four Indian astronauts selected for the Gaganyaan mission, India’s ambitious human spaceflight endeavor.
Additionally, PM Modi is scheduled to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for development projects worth over Rs 24,000 crore across the three states. Three significant space infrastructure projects, valued at approximately Rs 1,800 crore, will also be inaugurated. These projects include the ‘PSLV integration facility’ at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, the ‘semi-cryogenics integrated engine and stage test facility’ at ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri, and the ‘Trisonic wind tunnel’ at VSSC.
The PSLV integration facility is expected to increase the frequency of PSLV launches from six to 15 per year, and it can accommodate launches for small vehicles designed by private space companies.
Moreover, the Prime Minister will launch India’s first indigenous green hydrogen fuel cell inland waterway vessel and address a gathering of MSME entrepreneurs in the automotive sector in Madurai.
ISRO recently achieved a crucial milestone in the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine, which powers the cryogenic stage of the LVM3 launch vehicle for Gaganyaan missions. The engine successfully completed the final round of ground qualification tests, making it human-rated for Gaganyaan missions. Rigorous testing, including vacuum ignition tests at the High Altitude Test Facility, demonstrated the engine’s reliability. The CE20 engine will play a vital role in powering the upper stage of the human-rated LVM3 vehicle for the Gaganyaan mission.
