Former NASA Astronaut Steve Lee Smith Praises India’s Space Achievements
Steve Lee Smith, a former NASA astronaut, has praised India for its remarkable achievements in the space sector. He highlighted that India has been very successful in space over the last 20 years and is well respected globally.
India’s Space Milestones
Smith mentioned India’s historic Mars mission, which was the first time a country had successfully orbited Mars on its first attempt. He also noted India’s moon landing last year, a feat no other country has achieved in such a short time.
Future Aspirations
Smith expressed his hope that Indian astronauts will soon travel to space in an Indian spaceship. NASA will assist in training two Indian astronauts, with one expected to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year. ISRO plans to select four astronauts for training.
India’s Space Station
India’s planned space station, Bharatiya Antariksha Station, will be built and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and is expected to be completed by 2035. The station will be smaller than the ISS, with a mass of 20 tonnes, and will be used for microgravity experiments, orbiting Earth at an altitude of around 400km.
Aditya-L1 Solar Mission
India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1, recently completed its first halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point. Launched on September 2 last year, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft takes 178 days to complete a revolution around the L1 point.
