India picks pilots for space flight that will blast it into cosmic history

Fresh from its successful Moon landing, India has taken a major step towards its goal of a manned mission by picking the first people it will send into space.

Four Indian Air Force pilots were selected, only three of whom will ultimately fly.

The Indian astronauts will travel 400 kilometres into space for a three-day trip next year, officials said, without specifying dates.

India's spacecraft Gaganyaan – meaning "celestial vehicle" in Sanskrit – will carry them on the low-Earth orbit.

If it succeeds, India will become the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to send humans into space.

Last August, India became the first nation to successfully perform a soft landing on the Moon's south pole with Gaganyaan, a workhorse craft that cost the Indian Space Research Organisation one billion euros.

The country aims to land humans on the Moon by 2040.

Robot astronaut

Gaganyaan has so far functioned without a glitch since the project launched in 2007, and last month its rocket engine passed its final performance test.

This autumn, the craft is set to blast off carrying a humanoid robot called Vyomitra – "space friend" – to demonstrate its space-worthiness before astronauts fly onboard next year.

The robot, first unveiled four years ago, can converse, send out alerts and monitor instruments in the crew module.

"It is designed to simulate human functions in the space environment and interact with the life support system," junior science and technology minister Jitendra Singh said in a recent statement.

'India's pride'

The shortlisted human pilots have undergone 13 months of training in Russia and India that included yoga and physical and psychological tests.

Making their first public appearance late last month alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they were introduced as senior air force pilots, each with 2,000 to 3,000 hours of flying experience.

Modi called them “India's pride” and pinned badges with golden wings onto their uniforms.

"These are not just four names or four people. They are four powers who will carry the aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians to space," Modi said.

The prime minister also promised that India would have its own space station by 2035.

High ambitions

With its space programme, India is aiming for a hold in the lucrative global satellite launch market.

In the last 10 years the country launched about 400 satellites, according to Modi, compared to around 30 in the decade before.

India's "space economy" is set to grow five-fold over the next 10 years, he claimed, to the equivalent of 37 billion euros.

In 1984, Air Force pilot Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to leave Earth when he boarded a Soviet rocket and spent 21 days in space.

The US and Soviet Union were the first countries to put humans into space in 1961. China followed in 2003, when a Chinese expedition orbited Earth 14 times in 21 hours.

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