Gujarat may be benefitted by major infrastructure projects linked with India’s spaceflight programme and it’s first mission “Gaganyaan”. If the meetings amongst scientists at ISRO with other scientific agencies over several months is any indication, Gujarat may get a mirror control centre of the ISTRAC facility in Bangalore.
The scientists involved with “Gaganyaan” are weighing options between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea as the place of landing for the crew after their return to the earth. As per reports, Indian Navy has said that the Bay of Bengal is rough sea. The apprehension is that the apparatus with crew, being heavy can go below the water and make is more difficult for rescue team to operate. The rescue is expected to take around two hours and could be more challenging because of higher waves in Bay of Bengal in comparison to Arabian Sea, it is said.
The choice of rehabilitation centre is attached with the choice of place of landing. The returning astronauts need rehabilitation facility equipped with medical and other amenities. If the choice for landing is Arabian Sea, the rehabilitation cente will also be set up in Gujarat. Even without the rehabilitation centre and choice of landing, establishing back-up centres is being considered actively.
