PM to dedicate three facilities of ISRO to the nation during a visit to the VSSC in Thiruvananthapuram

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, where he will assess the status of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme and dedicate three facilities of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to the country on February 27.

Mr. Modi will be revealing the identities of the Gaganyaan astronauts. Additionally, Mr. Modi will give them "mission patches." Gaganyaan, scheduled for launch in 2025, aims to carry people into orbit and safely return them to Earth as a demonstration of human spaceflight capabilities.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) integration facilities at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, the Semi-cryogenic Integrated Engine and Stage Test Facility (SIET) at the ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, and the Trisonic Wind Tunnel established at VSSC will all be dedicated by Mr. Modi, who is expected to visit the organisation at 10.45 a.m.

The whole length of the Trisonic Wind Tunnel is 170 metres. It creates a "controlled uniform airflow" over scale models of rockets and aeroplanes with a test section size of 1.2 metres to evaluate their aerodynamic properties for the best possible design development.

With a Mach number range of 0.2 to 4, the wind tunnel—the first of its type in the nation—can produce speeds that vary from subsonic to supersonic, up to four times the speed of sound. Future launch vehicle projects will benefit from the independence that the Trisonic Wind Tunnel will offer in its end-to-end design.

With the opening of the new PSLV Integration Facilities (PIF) in Sriharikota, the ISRO would be able to conduct up to 15 PSLV flights annually. Time will be saved at the new site when the PSLV rocket is integrated concurrently with the launch pad renovation.

With SIET, the ISRO will be able to test the SCE-2000 semi-cryogenic engine, which powers the rocket stage and uses liquid oxygen and refined kerosene (known as ISROSENE) as propellants. The facility is located in Mahendragiri's ISRO Propulsion Complex.

VSSC director S. Unnikrishnan Nair, ISRO chairman S. Somanath, and directors of other ISRO centres will be in attendance.