First trial of India’s manned spaceflight may happen in Nov

livemint.com:

New Delhi: The first unmanned trial spaceflight of India’s manned space mission, Gaganyaan, “may be ready for takeoff next month," said Union minister of state for science and space, Jitendra Singh. The first test flight is scheduled to be undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) by the end of this year—with a second trial, carrying a homegrown humanoid robot, set to take flight next year.

Speaking at industry body Assocham’s Quantum Technology Conclave in Delhi on Thursday, Singh said that feats such as the upcoming Gaganyaan mission, as well as the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission and the Aditya-L1 solar mission, have catapulted India to prominence in global space economy. “India, in the space sector, is no longer looked upon as a follower—major developed economies are looking to partner alongside India for space technologies and initiatives, driven by the success of the likes of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission, the Aditya-L1 solar mission, and the upcoming Gaganyaan manned space mission, trials for which may begin as early as next month.

All of this cannot be solely driven by the government—the success of the US space economy is a clear example," the minister said. However, to capitalize this, policy-makers in the country must look at the approach taken by global counterparts, such as in the US, Singh said.

This, in turn, would “emulate the success of private firms in the US in industries such as space." “One key reason for the success of the US space sector was the impetus given to the private sector by the government—allowing it to flourish early. In this regard, a key achievement of our government has been in opening up access to central space facilities of Isro.