ISRO congratulates NASA and SpaceX for their "historic" manned mission

Indian Space Research Organisation on Monday congratulated NASA and SpaceX for their manned mission and termed it as 'historic.' 'Congratulations to #NASA and #SpaceX for historic first launch of manned mission after 2011. Great job !' ISRO tweeted. SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft with two NASA astronauts on Sunday successfully docked with the International Space Station after a historic launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the dawn of a new age in commercial space travel.

Saturday's liftoff also assumes significance as it marks the launch of humans into orbit from US soil for the first time in nearly a decade. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley had lifted off at 3:22 pm EDT Saturday atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

India too is preparing for its first manned space mission 'Gaganyaan'. The Rs 10,000-crore ambitious project is expected to be launched in 2022, the year of the 75th anniversary of India's Independence. Four Indian Air Force fighter pilots are currently undergoing training in Moscow, and are going to be the potential candidates for the Gaganyaan project.