Bengaluru, January 22: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan on Wednesday said that India's Gaganyaan Mission is not only about sending a human to space, but aims to provide opportunities to build a framework for long term national and international collaborations and cooperation.

Addressing a gathering in Bengaluru, the ISRO chief said, as quoted by news agency ANI, "Gaganyaan Mission is not just about sending a human to space, this mission provides us an opportunities to build a framework for long term national and international collaborations and cooperation." Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO to Set Up Its Own Satellite Communication System to Monitor and Contact Indian Astronauts in Space.

Adding more about the objectives, he said, "We all know that scientific discoveries, economic development, education, tech development and inspiring youth are coming goals for all nations. Human space flight provides perfect platform to meet all these objectives."

Here's the ANI tweet:

According to the reports, ISRO is planning to launch Gaganyaan by 2022 and prior to that it is all set to establish its own satellite communication system. Sivan had mentioned that a constellation of two geo satellites constituting the Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS) will establish the space communication system. The first geo satellite will be launched this year before the Gaganyaan’s testflight, Sivan added.

It is to be known that four ace pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) have been selected for India's maiden manned mission Gaganyaan around the earth's orbit by 2022. They will undergo training in Russia for the Gaganyaan mission. Sivan had said that the training for the astronauts who are from the Indian Air Force will be planned in the third week of January which will take place in Russia.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 22, 2020 11:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).