Deccan Chronicle

IAF pilot finishes phase-1 of Gaganyaan training

Four astronauts will go into space for seven-day mission

- AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO I DC

Odisha-born Indian air force (IAF) wing commander, Nikhil Rath, along with his other copilots has completed the first phase of training for the country’s first manned mission to space called Gaganyaan.

Rath, who hails from Bolangir, is among the four selected pilots for the Indian space research organisati­on’s (ISRO) Gaganyaan, billed for 2022. He has completed his training at Gagarin cosmonaut training centre in Russia on crew actions in the event of an abnormal descent module landing.

According to a statement by the Russian space corporatio­n, Roscosmos, Rath, along with his co-pilots, have completed training on crew actions in allweather and all terrain modules. “They were trained on landing on woodedand marshy areas in winter (February), on the water surfaces (June) and inthe steppe in summer (July) in complete adherence of Covid-19 safetyprot­ocols,” Roscosmos said.

“The programme Indian cosmonauts for also

ACCORDING TO a statement the programme for Indian cosmonauts also includes training in a centrifuge­and in a hyperbaric chamber to prepare their organisms for sustaining­spacefligh­t factors, such as G-force, hypoxia and pressure drops.

includes training in a centrifuge­and in a hyperbaric chamber to prepare their organisms for sustaining­spacefligh­t factors, such as G-force, hypoxia and pressure drops. These training sessions are to be held in the near future. All of the Indian cosmonauts are in good health and are determined to continue theirtrain­ing,” the statement added. If everything follows schedule, the astronauts will go to space for a seven-day mission.

If the space project succeeds India will be the fourth nation to sendastron­auts to space after the United States, Russia and China.

 ??  ?? Nikhil Rath
Nikhil Rath

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