ISRO to Launch First Uncrewed Gaganyaan Test Flight Within Four Months

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the first uncrewed flight of its Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme within four months, Chairman Dr V Narayanan announced on Sunday at the Third National Space Day celebrations in Ahmedabad. He said the agency has completed about 8,000 tests for the programme and entered its final preparation stage. The uncrewed flight will carry no crew and will test the launch vehicle, spacecraft and life-support systems needed to safely carry future Indian astronauts to orbit and back. It is the first of three planned uncrewed preparatory missions before India's first crewed spaceflight.

The announcement comes during a difficult stretch for ISRO, which has not recorded a successful launch in 2026. Its workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), remains grounded for ground evaluations after two consecutive flight failures. Even so, ISRO's roadmap for the current financial year targets 12 satellites and 8 launch vehicle missions covering communication, navigation, Earth observation and basic scientific research. India currently operates 56 active space assets, but Dr Narayanan said the country will need 200 to 300 satellites over the next five years for national security, weather monitoring and communications.

To help close that gap, ISRO is counting on India's private space sector, which has grown from a handful of companies to roughly 440 start-ups since sweeping reforms in 2020. These companies now build launch vehicles, satellite hardware and specialised applications. Dr Narayanan cited the successful orbital mission of Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket as a milestone, and said deploying more than 300 satellites within six to seven years will need close cooperation between ISRO and start-ups.

ISRO is also planning further ahead, with the Chandrayaan-4 and Chandrayaan-5 lunar missions, an uncrewed mission to Venus, and a future Mars landing effort in the works. The agency's long-term goal is to set up the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS), India's own space station, by 2035.