Russian research and development enterprise Zvezda has started manufacturing of space suits and personal flight equipment for Indian cosmonauts undergoing training in Russia to be part of India’s first manned space mission Gaganyaan, Glavkosmos said on Monday.
Glavkosmos is a subsidiary of Roscosmos with which the Human Spaceflight Center (HSC) of the city-based Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed a contract to train the Indian astronauts.
“On September 3, Indian cosmonauts who have been training for a spaceflight in Russia under the contract of Glavkosmos, visited Zvezda, where their anthropometric parameters were measured for the subsequent production of spacesuits,” Glavkosmos CEO Dmitry Loskutov said.
The contract also provides for the production of individual seats and custom-made couch liners, he added. The contract for the production and delivery of individual equipment kits for Indian astronauts was signed by Glavkosmos and the HSC on March 11.
Four Indian Air Force fighter pilots are currently under training in Russia since February 10, and likely to be the potential candidates for Gaganyaan project.
Gaganyaan, India’s first manned mission to space, was planned around 2022.
However, ISRO has indicated that it may be delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown induced by it.
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