Indian astronaut-designate interacts with school students in Darjeeling
Darjeeling: It is not everyday that one meets an Indian astronaut-designate in Darjeeling. So when the students from Darjeeling got an opportunity to meet and interact with Group Captain Angad Pratap, one of the four selected for Gaganyaan — India’s first human spaceflight programme — their joy and curiosity knew no bounds. Pratap was bombarded with questions, including “Have you seen aliens?” from the overtly enthusiastic crowd.
42-year-old Pratap, a test pilot and flying instructor was selected along with Group Captains Ajit Krishnan, Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair and Wing Commander Shubanshu Shukla in 2020 for the prestigious mission. All four are officers in the Indian Air Force with extensive experience as test pilots. The Rs 9,023 crore Gaganyaan mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation aims to demonstrate human spaceflight to a low earth orbit using an Indian launch vehicle. It will take the astronauts to an orbit of 400 km and safely return them to Earth. The launch is expected to take place in 2026. The mission is designed to carry three crew members. Though four have been trained, only three will fly on the mission with the fourth person serving as a backup. Once completed, India will join the prestigious club comprising the erstwhile Soviet Union, the United States and China in such a space mission.
Group Captain Pratap undertook a specially-curated 28-day long course at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling. “We devised a specialised training programme that merged the basic and advance courses into a single course for him. Safety was our main concern,” stated Group Captain Jai Kishan, Principal, HMI.
As part of the training, Pratap scaled the 18500-feet BC Roy Peak in Sikkim on November 10. Incidentally, the peak is named after former Bengal Chief Minister, Dr BC. Roy who along with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had given shape to the HMI following the conquest of Mount Everest by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary. Despite his busy schedule, Pratap took time out to address students from local schools along with Scouts and Guides from Chhattisgarh and tourists visiting HMI. Speaking about his ‘transformative’ experience, Pratap stated: “The mountains are a different breed altogether and being a mountaineer trumps all other individual adventure sports.” He highlighted how his specialised training made him not just a more determined athlete but also a more humbled human being. The astronaut-designate trained from February 2020 to March 2021 in Russia’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre. Addressing the students, Pratap shared interesting facts like all his wisdom teeth have been extracted as nothing is left to chance. “A pain in space would fog the mind,” he added. His words of encouragement and motivation left an indelible mark on the young minds, igniting determination to push for the stars. “To train an astronaut in the art of mountain climbing and mountains has been an honour. Through this collaboration we have shown that the summit of every mountain is a step towards the infinite skies,” stated HMI Principal Jai Kishan.
