India plans to launch its own modular space station — the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) — by 2035, Isro chairman and secretary of the department of space, Dr V. Narayanan, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) (deemed to be University) here, Dr Narayanan said the project would significantly boost India’s capabilities in space research and technological innovation.
“Our first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, is expected to be launched in March 2027. Four test pilots are currently undergoing astronaut training,” he said. The crewed mission will be preceded by a series of uncrewed launches to test systems, as part of India’s long-term vision of becoming a global space power by 2047.
Tracing Isro’s journey from its inception in 1969, Dr. Narayanan said India’s space programme had come a long way since its humble beginning in 1962. “Today, we’ve developed six generations of launch vehicles. We even conceived and built a 40-storey-high rocket in just 27 days,” said Dr Narayanan, a rocket propulsion expert.
He noted that India was once mocked and denied access to cryogenic engine technology, but has since developed three such engines — two of them indigenously.
“India is the only country to have soft-landed on the Moon’s south pole with Chandrayaan-3, and the first to detect water molecules on the lunar surface,” he said.