India's ISRO – Indian Space Research Organisation – will make a crucial test with their new human spacecraft Gaganyaan on Saturday 21 October.
This Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) is a high-altitude abort test of the Gaganyaan spacecraft, where the capsule will be launched with a rocket based upon the GSLV L40 stage to around 11 km, where an in-flight abort scenario will be initiated. The Crew Escape System will be fired and then separated, and finally, the capsule will land under a parachute.
The capsule will not be crewed, but it has the same mass as the crewed version.
Prior to this test flight, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed on Tuesday 17 October the further plans for India's first manned space mission and other future goals. If the TV-D1 flight is successful, the first human mission will happen possibly in 2025.
India is planning a series of Chandrayaan Lunar missions, the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle, its own Space Station in 2035 and finally landing Indian spacefliers to the Moon by 2040.
Read more from The Times of India and ISRO.