Who wants to be India's first woman astronaut?

By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 07 October 2009, 22:29 IST   |    43 Comments
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Who wants to be India's first woman astronaut?
Bangalore: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is offering an opportunity for women to be a part of the first Indian human flight into space, scheduled for 2014. They could be among the first 2-member crew that ISRO sends up into space. The astronauts will cruise for a week in an orbit 400 km above the Earth before splashing down into the Bay of Bengal. But there is a harsh side to such a life-changing opportunity. There will be a long-drawn procedure to pick the best and a rigorous training schedule to help survive gruelling conditions in space. "The process will take more than three years. We will start with about a hundred and bring it down to a few. We will keep it open for women," Dr T.K. Alex, Director of the ISRO Satellite Centre, told Deccan Chronicle. ISRO has signed a pact with Roskosmos, the Russian federal space agency, for help in selection and training of the crew. The entire process, however, will be conducted at the upcoming Astronaut Training Centre near Bengaluru.