Gaganyaan crew space comfort sealed by Midhani mettle

HYDERABAD: When India's first astronauts take flight in Isro's maiden crewed space mission on 'Gaganyaan' sometime in 2025, they will be ensconced in relative comfort in zero gravity thanks to the special alloy used for the crew chamber. The alloy, Titanium-31, has been developed by city-based Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (Midhani), a ministry of defence enterprise, which specialises in the production of special steels and alloys.
Having supplied vital materials for Isro's Chandrayaan-3, Midhani has been actively involved in the 'Gaganyaan' mission too.
After the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission and successful launch of Aditya-L1 to study solar atmosphere, Isro is now focussed on 'Gaganyaan'.
Prior to the manned mission, two unmanned 'Gaganyaan' flights have been planned which would have a humanoid 'Vyommitra' on board. The most important feature of 'Gaganyaan', which is likely to be in space for three days in an orbit of 400 km, is the crew chamber that will accommodate three crew members.
"When astronauts have to sit for long hours in the spacecraft, it is important that they are comfortable in the crew chamber. The chamber is not just about strength or being light weight. Our focus, when we carried out the scanning of the alloy used for the crew chamber, was that it should also provide comfortable seating. The astronauts should not feel any fatigue," Midhani chairman and managing director S K Jha told TOI.
But building and testing materials for a comfortable ride has been an uphill task for the Midhani staff.
Explaining the effort, Jha said: "We developed our own technology and carried out the scanning of the specialised material used for manufacturing the crew chamber."
Jha said that a new technique was developed for conducting the ultrasonic testing.