PM Modi reveals names of four astronauts picked for ISRO Gaganyaan mission

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced from Kerala the names of the four astronauts picked for India’s manned space flight mission Gaganyaan. Group Captain P Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander S Shukla were the four astronauts named for the mission. The PM also awarded each of them with an ‘astronaut wing’.

““I am happy that today I got the opportunity to meet these astronauts and present them in front of the country. I want to congratulate them on behalf of the entire country...You are the pride of today's India,” said the Prime Minister in his speech. The PM added, "By 2035, India will have its space station in space that will help us study the unknown expanses of space. In this period of Amrit Kaal, Indian astronauts will land on the surface of the moon on our rocket."

The Prime Minister visited the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday to inaugurate 3 ISRO facilities and check on the progress of the Gaganyaan project. He was accompanied by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister Muraleedharan, and ISRO Chairman S Somanath.

The Gaganyaan mission is India’s first manned space flight mission. The mission is aimed to launch between 2024-2025. A crew of three people is planned to be launched into an orbit of 400 km for a 3-day mission, following which they will be brought back safely by landing the spacecraft in Indian waters.