Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) stated today that its manned mission Gaganyaan is ready to go into outer space by December 2021.
ISRO President Dr. Kailasavadivoo Sivan said that a space center was established for this mission.
Initial training for Gaganyaan will be held in India and then an advanced preparatory stage in Russia, Sivan said.
India, through the Gaganyaan project, intends to send three astronauts - including a woman - into outer space for seven days.
The future astronauts or cosmonauts will be called 'Vyomnauts' by the Indians because 'Vyom' in Sanskrit means space.
Sivan also said that two unmanned space missions are scheduled to be launched in December 2020 and July 2021. India also plans to launch 32 missions this year, including Chandrayaaan-2 to the Moon between March and April.
Besides, the GSAT-20 satellite for high bandwidth connectivity will be launched in September or October.
The Indian space agency, meanwhile, is preparing a mission to Venus by 2023. Under an ISRO outreach program, the country's students are invited to work on the development of nanosatellites.