The orbital vehice of the Gaganyaan mission

AHMEDABAD: For years, the vast Pacific ocean has been Uncle Sam's favoured site for splashdown -- a term describing planned descent of spacecraft crew capsule. For India, the splashdown for its ambitious Gaganyaan , country's first human space flight mission, is likely to be off Gujarat coast near Veraval .

"....We are going to put two or three persons in space before August 15, 2022, our 75th year of Independence. They will be in orbit for five to seven days and will land on Gujarat coast near Veraval," said Nilesh Desai, deputy director of the Space Applications Centre (SAC) at Isro in Ahmedabad.

Desai was addressing a seminar on 'Repositioning Indian talent pool on the global frontier' at the Vibrant Summit in Gandhinagar on Sunday. Desai said that two other alternative spots being considered for the splashdown are off Goa coast and in the Bay of Bengal.

"...In case of any emergency, we can evacuate them in 90 to 100 minutes in any part of the world. This is how we are showcasing our talent to the world," Desai added.

SAC developing crucial technology

On December 26, 2018, founding director of Indian Institute of Space Sciences and Technology Dr B N Suresh had presented Isro chairman K Sivan’s slides at anniversary general meeting of Indian National Science Academy (INSA) at Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory (PRL).

According to the slides, the splashdown of Gaganyaan’s crew capsule will be “off Gujarat coast”.

In a separate interaction during the INSA meet, former Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar had told TOI, almost one year before the actual launch of human spaceflight mission, “Probable astronauts may be from the Indian Air Force (IAF) but it all depends on the selection process”.

Some of the life-support system technologies for crew members are being developed at the SAC, Ahmedabad. Recently, a space suit developed by a Vadodara fire safety equipment company was tested.

SAC developing crucial tech

On December 26, 2018, founding director of Indian Institute of Space Sciences and Technology Dr B N Suresh had presented Isro chairman K Sivan’s slides at anniversary general meeting of Indian National Science Academy (INSA) at Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory (PRL).

According to the slides, the splashdown of Gaganyaan’s crew capsule will be “off Gujarat coast”.

In a separate interaction during the INSA meet, former Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar had told TOI, almost one year before the actual launch of human spaceflight mission, “Probable astronauts may be from the Indian Air Force (IAF) but it all depends on the selection process”.

Some of the life-support system technologies for crew members are being developed at the SAC, Ahmedabad. Recently, a space suit developed by a Vadodara fire safety equipment company was tested.

