States » SouthPosted at: Oct 24 2026 5:03PM


Gagayaan first test flight in 2 months : ISRO Chief

Chennai, Oct 24 (UNI) The first test flight of India's ambitious maiden Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission till be conducted in two months, ISRO Chairman Dr.V.Narayanan announced on Saturday.
Talking to reporters after taking part in the Graduation Day event of the Sri Ramachandra Centre for Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) at its campus here, he said the first uncrewed flight test for the Gaganyaan-1 (G1) using the HLVM3 rocket will take place in two months from the spaceport of Sriharikota.
G1 flight is an uncrewed test mission that will carry the half-humanoid robot Vyommitra into a low Earth orbit. It will use the human-rated HLVM3 rocket and an indigenously developed Crew Module.
The Space Agency has been carrying out critical qualification tests ahead of the first test flight to validate all systems. ISRO had completed the Second Integrated Air drop Test (IADT-02) alidating the parachute deceleration systems using an IAF helicopter, besides the Crew Module-Service Module Separation Tests, apex cover separation, and crew module uprighting system.
Following Gaganyaan-1, additional uncrewed test flights (including humanoids) will be launched ahead of the inaugural crewed human spaceflight mission. Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3 days mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.
The pre-requisites for Gaganyaan mission include development of many critical technologies including human rated launch vehicle for carrying crew safely to space, Life Support System to provide an earth like environment to crew in space, crew emergency escape provision and evolving crew management aspects for training, recovery and rehabilitation of crew. It will carry Orbital Module (OM)--equipped with state-of-the-art avionics systems with adequate redundancy considering human safety--that will be Orbiting the Earth
with the Crew Module (CM) and Service Module (SM).
On the possible timeline of the first human flight mission, Dr.Narayanan said it would be announced by the Prime Minister.
Asked about the second spaceport coming up at Kulasekarapattinam in the coastal Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, he said the target was to launch 50 rockets a year--one rocket per week--from 2029-30 for which we needed more launch pads. "At present we have two launch pads at Sriharikota, from where PSLV and GSLV launches are taking place. Now we have added two more, one is Kulasekarapattinam, which will primarily cater to launch of Small Satellite Launch Vehicles, and another one (3rd Launch pad) in Sriharikota. Once these four launch pads are ready, we can send 50 rockets per year."
He said "to launch 50 rockets, the manufacturing part of it, we are internally improving it. After that, startup companies, there are small, small companies, are making new rockets. We are supporting them and making them ready for manufacturing. So, in another three years,
50 rockets per year will definitely be launched from India."
Dismissing rumours of privatisation, Dr.Narayanan said the launch pads would be handed over to private players who would operate and run them. It does not mean that we are going to sell it out or we are going to privatize it. And who is the private people? Our own Indian brothers and sisters are going to operate. It will be operated on commercial basis by private companies where Indian engineers, Indian brothers and sisters will get job opportunity, and they are going to operate.
"There has been some sort of wrong understanding that ISRO is going to be privatized. No. ISRO is a Government of India department, it cannot be privatized. It will not be privatized. So, people should not misinterpret that the ISRO is going to be privatized. Only thing we are handholding private companies, private start-up companies to do space activities so that the space ecosystem in the country will grow, which will bring lot of benefit to the country", he added.
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