India’s government approves manned space program
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The new colonial movement: India’s government yesterday approved the proposed manned space program put forth by ISRO, that nation’s space agency.
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved the Gaganyaan Programme with demonstration of Indian Human Spaceflight capability to low earth orbit for a mission duration ranging from one orbital period to a maximum of seven days. A human rated Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV MK-III) will be used to carry the orbital module which have the necessary provisions for sustaining a 3 member crew for the duration of the mission. Reportedly, India plans to call its astronauts “Vyomnauts”.
The total fund requirement for the programme is Rs 10,000 crore and will include the cost of technology development, flight hardware realization and essential infrastructure elements. So far, ISRO has spent Rs 173 crore in developing critical technologies needed for the for human space flight. Two unmanned flights and one manned flight will be undertaken as part of this programme.
The approval includes a deadline for the first manned mission of 40 months from today, or April 2022. This is an extremely tight schedule. I would not be surprised if they fail to meet it.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
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The new colonial movement: India’s government yesterday approved the proposed manned space program put forth by ISRO, that nation’s space agency.
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved the Gaganyaan Programme with demonstration of Indian Human Spaceflight capability to low earth orbit for a mission duration ranging from one orbital period to a maximum of seven days. A human rated Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV MK-III) will be used to carry the orbital module which have the necessary provisions for sustaining a 3 member crew for the duration of the mission. Reportedly, India plans to call its astronauts “Vyomnauts”.
The total fund requirement for the programme is Rs 10,000 crore and will include the cost of technology development, flight hardware realization and essential infrastructure elements. So far, ISRO has spent Rs 173 crore in developing critical technologies needed for the for human space flight. Two unmanned flights and one manned flight will be undertaken as part of this programme.
The approval includes a deadline for the first manned mission of 40 months from today, or April 2022. This is an extremely tight schedule. I would not be surprised if they fail to meet it.
I am interested in what logic all these countries are using to get funding for their space programs. Funding for the moon race was propaganda that the free world and free enterprise was superior; or at least, this was the idea planted to make the expenditure palatable to the tax payer.
What’s logic have to do with it? China’s not a democracy. All that’s necessary is that the top leadership want to do it. And India? Well, China’s doing it, you see. If you want to apply logic, then resources and lebensraum are all the logic you need. The paired ideas that you can’t import resources from space and export population to same have always been leftist lies. Which is funny when you think most people regarded the Soviets and Chicoms as leftists!
An interesting post over on NSF pointed out the progression
(roughly a doubling) of national GDP as measured in 1990 USD PPP (purchasing power parity) dollars in the year they first achieved (or predicted they’d achieve in India’s case) manned orbital space flight.
1961 USSR 892
1962 USA 1994
2003 China 3651
2022 India 7560