First test flight of Gaganyaan mission likely in Dec: Isro chief

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is aiming to launch the first test flight of the Gaganyaan mission by December of this year, said ISRO chairman S Somanath in Sriharikota. The official announcement came after the successful launch of the third and final developmental flight of the SSLV, placing the Earth Observation Satellite into orbit on Friday.

This handout photo taken and released by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on October 21, 2023, shows the lift-off of the Gaganyaan Test Vehicle (TV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of southern Andhra Pradesh state. (AFP)

Somanath said that some of the rocket hardware for the human space programme has reached the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota and the integration of the crew module was going on at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.