The first uncrewed flight of India’s Gaganyaan mission will happen before March next year, the government said in Parliament on Thursday. This flight is part of seven launches that ISRO has lined up between now and the first quarter of 2026.
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Gaganyaan, India’s human spaceflight programme, is slated to have at least three uncrewed flights before taking astronauts to space. In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh, who is also in charge of the Department of Space, said six more launches were planned before March of next year.
Among these was the launch of Earth Observation Satellite EOS-10, also known as Oceansat 3A. This will improve India’s meteorological, oceanographic and land-based observations and strengthen its capabilities in these areas. This mission will also carry the first Indo-Mauritius joint satellite (IMJS) and the Leap-2 satellite, from non-government entities.
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Two other earth observation satellites are planned to be launched, on separate missions. One of these missions will carry 18 other co-passenger satellites from India as well as overseas.
ISRO is also planning to launch a strategically important mission, which will help in enhancing navigation and communication. Its primary satellite would be a technology demonstration satellite (TDS-01), which is meant to test out some new technologies. ISRO will also undertake a dedicated commercial launch of US-based BlueBird Block-2 satellite of AST SpaceMobile Inc.