ISRO reveals the first look homegrown spacecraft Gaganyaan, which will carry India's first astronautAug 28 (AZINS) Indian Space Research Organisatin (ISRO) chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan on Tuesday said that the space agency has lined up 19 missions till March, 2019.

"Next year we will be launch SSLV, a small vehicle which will be assembled innovatively in only 3 days instead of the usual 60 days and by 6 people instead of 600," Sivan said addressing to media.

“ISRO has lined up 19 missions till March 2019”, he added. “January 3 to February 16, 2019 is the window for the launch of Chandrayaan2,” he added.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has stated that ISRO is on the verge of launching the first Indian astronaut into space. ‘Gaganyaan’ will be the first manned space mission launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). “Our weather forecast is now 100% accurate, because now we are combining Radar and Satellite information,” Singh said.

During the Independence Day 2018 speech last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will send an astronaut to space in 2022. He stated said when India celebrates 75th year of Independence in 2022, “and if possible even before, an Indian son or daughter” will undertake a manned space mission on board ‘Gaganyaan‘ “carrying the national flag”.

Asked about scientists advising the government to take help from countries such as the US and Russia for 'Gaganyaan' mission, K Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific advisor to the government of India said the nature of science and technology is of collaboration.

"Russia and the US are leaders in space and science and technology. Discussions with them are natural," he said. Raghavan dismissed questions raised about the money spent on expensive space missions. He said these questions are not new questions were raised even during ISRO's previous missions.

Initially people asked why India was investing so much to send rockets in space, but ISRO benefitted a lot from these investments, the principal scientific advisor said. "We can anticipate the short-term and long-term benefits of this (Gaganyaan) mission," Raghavan said.

If India manages to link the manned mission with the startup sector and industry, it can become a leading technology mission anywhere in the world, he said.

Asked about training astronauts and developing the support system for the proposed manned mission, he said training is an important element as it helps in evolving the human psychology in challenging circumstances. He stressed that the mission will propel India far ahead of others in the area of science and technology. It will also inspire the young generation and all Indians will be proud of it, he concluded.