Science & Technology
ISRO’s Astronaut Training Hub in Karnataka
- 06 Jan 2020
- 2 min read
Why in News
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has proposed Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) at Challakere in Chitradurga district of Karnataka.
- The region already houses some facilities of ISRO, the Defence Research & Development Organisation’s Advanced Aeronautical Test Range, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the Indian Institute of Science. Thus, it is also known as Science City.
- Moreover, ISRO has also planned to add a quarantine facility at the Sriharikota spaceport.
- Quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests.
- The quarantine facility would ensure that astronauts who are about to enter the spacecraft before the launch stay unexposed.
Key points
- All in one facility: Challakere will be the single-stop consolidating infrastructure and activities related to space travellers.
- Currently, Human Spaceflight Programme (HSP) work is split across various centres such as the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru.
- Challakere will also host work related to crew and service modules of the spacecraft that carries the astronauts.
- Reduction of Cost: The first set of four astronaut candidates for the Gaganyaan mission of 2022 are to train in Russia. For such programmes, the country pays a large amount of money to avail space training facilities abroad.
Challakere
- Challakere is a city in Chitradurga district in the state of Karnataka. India.
- It is called Oil city with numerous edible oil mills around the city.
- Challakere is famous for kambali (woven blankets) made by the local Kuruba people.
- It is also known as the "second Mumbai" of India because it is the second-largest producer/supplier of edible oil after Mumbai. There are as many as 60+ oil industries in Challakere.
