Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reviewed the progress of the Gaganyaan Mission, India’s first human space flight program, during his visit to Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. There he bestowed the ‘astronaut wings’ to the astronaut-designates who he announced as Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla.

The Prime Minister lauded the dedication and spirit of the astronauts and said that their names have been conjoined with India’s success and they symbolize the trust, courage, valor and discipline of today’s India. He also conveyed his best wishes to all the staff trainers from ISRO associated with the Gaganyaan project.

During his visit, PM Modi also inaugurated three important space infrastructure projects worth around Rs 1800 crore. These projects are:

– The PSLV Integration Facility (PIF) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota which will help in boosting the frequency of PSLV launches from 6 to 15 per year. This state-of-the-art facility can also cater to the launches of SSLV and other small launch vehicles designed by private space companies.

– The new ‘Semi-cryogenics Integrated Engine and Stage Test facility’ at IPRC Mahendragiri which will enable the development of semi-cryogenic engines and stages which will increase the payload capability of the present launch vehicles. The facility is equipped with liquid Oxygen and kerosene supply systems to test engines up to 200 tons of thrust.

– The “Trisonic Wind Tunnel” at VSSC which will serve our future technology development needs. Wind tunnels are essential for aerodynamic testing for the characterisation of rockets and aircraft during flight in the atmospheric regime.