India’s ambitious plan to launch a manned spaceflight has received green signal from the Cabinet which okayed ₹10,000 crore for the project to be undertaken within the next 40 months, Minister for Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said on Friday.
The Gaganyaan mission, to be executed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with the help of academia, industry and other scientific institutions, was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech this year. As per the approved plan, a three-member crew will be launched to a low earth orbit where it would spend a maximum of one week, the Minister said. Prior to the actual mission, which would be carried out using an indigenously-built Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, two unmanned flights would be launched to test the feasibility of the idea, he said.
The Cabinet, which met on Thursday evening, also approved signing pacts with Cuba and South Korea in the field of biotechnology.