<p>India's Gaganyaan mission will not be a "one-off" mission as the government has granted approval for a "sustained human space flight programme", a senior ISRO official said on Saturday.</p>.<p>Addressing the 'Be Inspired: Festival of Ideas' event here, Imtiaz Ali Khan, director of ISRO's Directorate of Human Spaceflight Programme, said the follow-on space missions of Gaganyaan may include civilians such as doctors and scientists.</p>.<p>Ali said for the first human spaceflight, planned for launch late next year, four Indian Air Force pilots have been selected and were undergoing extensive training for the mission.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/isro-receives-simulated-crew-module-for-gaganyaan-1203868.html" target="_blank">Isro receives simulated crew module for Gaganyaan</a></strong></p>.<p>“Gaganyaan will not be a one-off mission as the government has given us approval for a sustained human spaceflight (HSF) programme,” Ali said, adding that the future missions will be decided after ISRO demonstrates its capabilities by carrying out India's first successful human spaceflight.</p>.<p>He said the kind of benefit one expected from the HSF programme requires a longer stay in microgravity and there was a need to develop new technologies such as rendezvous, docking among others.</p>.<p>Ali said the subsequent missions will have non-pilot people, including civilians, women, doctors, and scientists drawn from different fields for carrying out science experiments in outer space.</p>.<p>He said age was not a very strict criterion for undertaking space missions as the person has to be agile, fit, able to understand procedures and work well on simulators during the training sessions.</p>.<p>ISRO plans to send at least two astronauts into a low-earth orbit in 2024 after assessing the outcome of the two orbital test flights.</p>.<p>Last week, ISRO completed the final long-duration hot test of the human-rated L110-G Vikas engine, a major achievement in the development of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Gaganyaan mission in his Independence Day address in 2018 at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore.</p>
<p>India's Gaganyaan mission will not be a "one-off" mission as the government has granted approval for a "sustained human space flight programme", a senior ISRO official said on Saturday.</p>.<p>Addressing the 'Be Inspired: Festival of Ideas' event here, Imtiaz Ali Khan, director of ISRO's Directorate of Human Spaceflight Programme, said the follow-on space missions of Gaganyaan may include civilians such as doctors and scientists.</p>.<p>Ali said for the first human spaceflight, planned for launch late next year, four Indian Air Force pilots have been selected and were undergoing extensive training for the mission.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/isro-receives-simulated-crew-module-for-gaganyaan-1203868.html" target="_blank">Isro receives simulated crew module for Gaganyaan</a></strong></p>.<p>“Gaganyaan will not be a one-off mission as the government has given us approval for a sustained human spaceflight (HSF) programme,” Ali said, adding that the future missions will be decided after ISRO demonstrates its capabilities by carrying out India's first successful human spaceflight.</p>.<p>He said the kind of benefit one expected from the HSF programme requires a longer stay in microgravity and there was a need to develop new technologies such as rendezvous, docking among others.</p>.<p>Ali said the subsequent missions will have non-pilot people, including civilians, women, doctors, and scientists drawn from different fields for carrying out science experiments in outer space.</p>.<p>He said age was not a very strict criterion for undertaking space missions as the person has to be agile, fit, able to understand procedures and work well on simulators during the training sessions.</p>.<p>ISRO plans to send at least two astronauts into a low-earth orbit in 2024 after assessing the outcome of the two orbital test flights.</p>.<p>Last week, ISRO completed the final long-duration hot test of the human-rated L110-G Vikas engine, a major achievement in the development of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Gaganyaan mission in his Independence Day address in 2018 at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore.</p>