Express News Service By

ISRO is inching closer to launch its ambitious human space mission with the first experimental unmanned flight of the crew module on the newly developed Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III in May-June from Sriharikota, said Dr K Radhakrishnan, chairman ISRO and secretary, Department of Space. The GSLV-MK-III is being developed as a heavy-lift vehicle capable of placing satellites weighing up to 5,000 kg in geosynchronous orbit.

“The experimental flight of GSLV Mark-III with a passive cryo stage will be flown to study the performance of the launch vehicle. This opportunity is used to study the re-entry characteristics of crew module,” Dr Radhakrishnan who was here for launching of Village Resource Centre of ISRO in Puducherry, told Express.

Speaking about the manned mission, Dr Radhakrishnan said “Currently no programme has been fixed for the manned mission. We are studying the critical new technologies for subsystems such as crew module, environmental control and life support system, for undertaking the manned mission.” The mission envisages carrying two or three crew members on the crew module to about 300 km low earth orbit and their safe return to a predefined destination on earth.