ISRO, DRDO join hands for Gaganyaan project

News:Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) and Defence Research Development Organisation(DRDO) has signed MoUs to jointly develop systems that will aid and enhance the Gaganyaan project.

Facts:

About Gaganyaan project:

• Gaganyaan is India’s first Human Space Flight Programme to be launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) by 2022.
• The programme will make India the fourth nation in the world to launch a Human Spaceflight Mission.So far,only the USA, Russia and China have launched human spaceflight missions.
• The spacecraft will consists of a service module and a crew module, collectively known as the Orbital Module.
• The Orbital Module will have three Indian astronauts.It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from earth for 5-7 days.
• GSLV Mk III also called the LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has the necessary payload capability.
• Further,ISRO will receive assistance from the French space agency CNES in terms of expertise in various fields including space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, radiation protection and life support.