Gaganyaan Will Send Humans to Space by Early 2028, Says ISRO Chief After Engine Hot Test

India's human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan, will send astronauts into space in December 2027 or early 2028, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan has said. Speaking to ETV Bharat, Narayanan said the space agency is making every effort to speed up the Gaganyaan project, and that recent engine tests have brought it a significant step closer.

On September 9, ISRO successfully carried out a hot test of an upgraded version of the CE20 cryogenic engine, which powers the LVM3 rocket that will carry the Gaganyaan crew module. The test, conducted at ISRO's Mahendragiri centre in Tirunelveli district, checked the engine's performance, capability and readiness for a crewed mission, and ISRO said the engine performed as planned.

The upgraded engine's thrust was raised to power the rocket's C32 upper stage, taking its thrust capacity to 22 tonnes so it can carry the extra weight needed for the Gaganyaan mission. A pressure-control unit designed to regulate the engine's liquid oxygen tank for the C32 stage was also tested successfully. ISRO described the test as the engine's final-stage test before the mission.

Narayanan said ISRO will launch three uncrewed test flights before sending humans into space: the first by the end of December this year, a second flight six months later, and a third six months after that. Only once all three uncrewed flights are complete will Gaganyaan carry its human crew, he said, adding that liquid-fuel and methane engine tests are also under way at the Mahendragiri centre.

Under Gaganyaan, three Indian astronauts will be sent into space, where they will spend three days carrying out various tests before returning safely to Earth — India's first attempt at sending humans into space.