New Delhi, January 11: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch Gaganyaan that envisages two unmanned and one manned flights to space in December 2021, announced ISRO chief Kailasavadivoo Sivan on Friday as he listed out achievements of the space agency in 2018 and missions for future. Sivan said the Gaganyaan programme has been a turning point for ISRO.

"The target for two unmanned missions to space is December 2020 and July 2021. The target for a manned mission to space is December 2021," the ISRO chief said. "The preparations for Gaganyaan Mission are underway. It has been a major turning point for ISRO," he added. Announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, the programme has been allocated Rs 10,000 crore. ISRO Unaware of UFO Detection in Manipur, Says Jitendra Singh.

Sivan said ISRO will try to send women astronauts on Gaganyaan Mission. "The initial training for Gaganyaan will be done in India and advanced training may be in Russia," he said. The ISRO chief also announced that the country's second Moon mission Chandrayaan-2 will be launched by mid-April this year. The launch of Chandrayaan-2 has been delayed twice. ISRO Launches GSAT-7A From Sriharikota, Satellite to Empower Communication Capabilities of Armed Forces.

The 3,890-kg Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, to be launched onboard the GSLV Mk-3, will orbit around the Moon to study its conditions and collect data of its topography, mineralogy and exosphere. The Rs 800-crore Chandrayaan-2 mission comes a decade after the maiden mission Chandrayaan-1 was launched on October 22, 2008, from the country's only spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, 90 km northeast of Chennai.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 11, 2019 12:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).