India which is all set to send its first manned mission to space is getting closer by the day as the four Indian astronaut-elects who are undergoing training in Russia are now set to enter the last leg of the training of Gaganyaan space programme, reports Times of India.
Russian Glavkosmos confirmed that the four astronaut-elects who are being trained by it shall return to India by the end of March 2021.
Glavkomos and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s Human Spaceflight Centre (HSFC) has an agreement to help train the four Indian Air Force (IAF)’s test pilots for the maiden space flight.
The four pilots have already completed training on crew actions in case of an abnormal descent module landing in the forest and marshy areas in winter (February 2020), on the water surface (June 2020), and in the steppe in summer (July 2020).
They have also completed training in short-term weightlessness mode on board the Il-76MDK laboratory aircraft (June 2020).
The astronauts have also been trained to lift aboard a helicopter while evacuating from the descent module landing point (July 2020).
The final phase of there training will commence in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune after they return from Russia.