IAF completes first level of selecting astronauts for Gaganyaan mission from its test pilots pool
New Delhi, Sep 7: The Indian Air Force on Friday said it has completed the first level of selecting astronauts for the ambitious Gaganyaan mission from its pool of test pilots.
The test pilots underwent necessary extensive physical exercise tests, lab investigations, radiological tests, clinical tests and evaluation on various aspects of their psychology, it added.
Air Force sources said 25 test pilots were part of the initial selection process.
This will be a multi-layered selection process and only 2-3 test pilots will make it to the final list, the sources added.
"#MissionGaganyaan -IAF completed Level-1 of Indian Astronaut selection at Institute of Aerospace Medicine. Selected Test Pilots underwent extensive physical exercise tests, lab investigations, radiological tests, clinical tests & evaluation on various facets of their psychology," the IAF tweeted.
The first Gaganyaan flight scheduled for 2022 will carry three astronauts, who will be picked from among the test pilots in the armed forces.
"Most maiden missions undertaken by different countries in the past had test pilots. So we are sticking to that for our maiden mission. We are also looking at test pilots from the armed forces which don't have woman as test pilots," an ISRO official said.
The short-listed candidate is being done in batches and the candidates will be sent to Russia for training after November.
India's first man in space Rakesh Sharma, who flew aboard the Soyuz T-11, launched on April 2, 1984, was an Indian Air Force pilot.
The ambitious Gaganyaan mission was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech in 2018.
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Bengaluru man arrested for sharing misleading ‘zombie drug’ video
Bengaluru (PTI): A day after a video of a man seen in a disoriented state went viral on social media with claims that he was under the influence of a so-called “zombie drug”, police on Friday arrested a 29-year-old employee of a private firm here for uploading the “misleading” video.
Hemanth, a resident of Vidyaranyapura, was issued a notice to join the inquiry, police said.
Learning that the police were looking for him, he posted an apology on social media. He was later taken into custody, a senior police officer said.
A case has been registered against him under Sections 353(2), relating to statements conducing to public mischief, including spreading false information or rumours that could incite public disorder, and Section 352, dealing with intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, among others, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police added.
After Hemanth uploaded the video, it quickly went viral on Thursday.
Later, police clarified that the man shown in a disoriented state in the video had not consumed any narcotic or psychotropic substance.
He was subjected to a medical examination, and the report confirmed that there was no trace of narcotic substances, Bengaluru police said.
The police also urged the public not to spread unverified or misleading information on social media platforms, as such content can create unnecessary panic and harm individuals’ reputations.
The footage, which circulated widely on social media, showed the man standing motionless. People claimed he might be under the influence of a synthetic “zombie drug” and raised concerns about its availability in the city.
An inquiry revealed that the individual seen in the video had come to Bengaluru in search of a livelihood and had been residing there for the past three months, police said, adding that further investigation is ongoing.
The police warned that strict action will be taken against persons found spreading false information or rumours.
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