As India is gearing towards its first manned mission to space in 2022, Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Nikhil Rath who is one the four astronauts selected for Gaganyaan, will bring a lot of pride to the state of Odisha.
Wing Commander Rath is from the Balangir province of Odisha and has completed his first phase training in crew actions at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Russia.
As per the latest reports released by the Russian Space Corporation Roscosmos, the four cosmonauts have completed training on crew actions in all weather and all terrain modules.
All the four astronauts-elect also have completed there training in short-term weightlessness mode aboard the IL-76MDK special laboratory aircraft. They have also been trained to lift aboard a helicopter while evacuating from the descent module landing point.
In a statement released by Roscosmos, “They are in good health and determined to continue their training. Their training in a centrifuge and hyperbaric chamber to prepare their organisms for sustaining spaceflight factors, such as G-force, hypoxia and pressure drops, will be started soon. All training modules will be completed in the first quarter, next year,”.
These four astronauts were selected from a pool of 25 shortlisted pilots for undergoing training for one year for the space mission under the ambitious Gaganyaan mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
It is likely that Wing Commander Rath will be among the three astronauts to go to space for a seven-day mission.
India’s Gaganyaan is supposed to be launched next year, however, it will be launched in 2022, that coincides with the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence.
The mission has got delayed due to the Wuhan virus pandemic.