ISRO is preparing to include civilian specialists in its astronaut corps alongside military pilots for India’s human spaceflight programme. The astronaut selection and management committee has recommended mixed batches for the second and third groups of astronauts under the Gaganyaan framework.
Second Batch Composition
The proposed second batch has 10 astronauts. It includes six mission pilots from military aviation backgrounds and four civilian specialists from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields. Civilian astronauts are expected to join mission crews from the fourth crewed Gaganyaan mission onwards.
First Batch Of Gaganyaan Astronauts
The first batch of four astronauts for Gaganyaan consisted entirely of Indian Air Force test pilots. The group includes Air Commodore Prashanth Nair and Group Captains Shubhanshu Shukla, Ajit Krishnan and Angad Prathap.
Third Batch And Cadre Strength
For the third batch, the committee has estimated a requirement of 12 astronauts. The proposed composition is two mission pilots and 10 civilian specialists. The committee has also proposed an overall astronaut cadre strength of up to 40 individuals.
Human Spaceflight Context
Gaganyaan is India’s human spaceflight programme and is being developed by ISRO for crewed missions in low Earth orbit. The planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station is India’s proposed space station project for future orbital missions. Military pilots are commonly used in early human spaceflight programmes because they are trained for high-risk flight operations. Civilian participation in astronaut corps is used in several space programmes for scientific, engineering and mission support roles.
Last Modified: April 28, 2026