The agreement will ensure cooperation between the two agencies.

ISRO has signed an agreement with the Australian Space Agency (ASA) to jointly carry out Gaganyaan mission operations. In a statement released on Wednesday, the agency shared details of the Implementation Agreement which promises support from the ASA during Gaganyaan's crew capsule recovery procedures.

As part of the Gaganayaan mission, ISRO will send up to three crew members to the low-Earth orbit. The crew capsule will return three days later and make a splashdown in the ocean.

"The IA enables the Australian authorities to work with Indian authorities to ensure support for search and rescue of crew and recovery of crew module as part of contingency planning for ascent phase aborts near Australian waters," the statement read.

The lead up to the crewed Gaganayaan flight will see ISRO launch a few test missions to ensure the crew capsule is safe and reliable. One of these tests will include launching the capsule with a robot equipped with sensors to gather spaceflight data.

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ISRO has previously practiced the recovery operations during the TV-D1 test flight which took place on October 21, 2023. The mission included a crew capsule which was launched on a single-stage rocket to demonstrate its capabilities of aborting a mission in simulated conditions. The Indian Navy personnel then recovered the capsule after it splashed down in the Bay of Bengal.

Earlier this year, reports suggested that a test flight would take place in late 2024, but nothing has been officially announced yet.

Besides, the crew mission has also been delayed by a year to 2026. During an event in New Delhi, ISRO Chairman Dr. S Somanath said that safety of the astronauts is paramount and that the mission team wants to be fully assured before sending them to space. Dr. Somanath also cited Boeing Space's crisis which caused a mission extension of Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore on the space station after their spacecraft Starliner malfunctioned.

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(Image: ISRO)