Charting Indian space odyssey: Gaganyaan mission is ambitious, indigenous

The Gaganyaan mission is ambitious and indigenous. Shine Jacob explains the nuts and bolts in its planning

On January 10, 2007, India launched an experimental space capsule that stayed in orbit for 12 days for a series of manoeuvres and was recovered when it splashed into the Bay of Bengal.

The Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1), which was launched using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), was the frontrunner of what is going to be the country's first manned space mission called Gaganyaan. It was a demonstration that India had the technology to send humans to space and bring them back safely.

The Union Cabinet approved Rs 9,023-crore for the mission in December