ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said this month that “vigorous and systematic” work is under way on India’s first uncrewed Gaganyaan test flight, which the space agency is targeting for launch within the current calendar year.
Coming off a successful launch
Narayanan’s comments followed the successful launch of the GSLV-F17 mission carrying the EOS-05 Earth observation satellite, the agency’s first success of this financial year. Speaking afterward, he said the reward for hard work is more work, pointing to the Gaganyaan uncrewed mission as the team’s immediate priority. He also dismissed speculation that EOS-05 was a spy satellite.
What the uncrewed mission involves
The uncrewed Gaganyaan flight is designed to test the full human spaceflight sequence — from the aerodynamics of the human-rated launch vehicle to orbital operations and the re-entry and recovery of the crew module — without astronauts on board. A humanoid robot, Vyomamitra, is expected to fly on the mission in their place, gathering data that will inform the first crewed Gaganyaan flight.
More launches ahead
Narayanan said six more launches are planned for the rest of the financial year, including the navigation satellite NVS-03. ISRO’s 2026 launch calendar has included both successes and at least one setback — the PSLV-C62 mission in January suffered a third-stage anomaly that prevented its payloads from reaching orbit — underlining that the uncrewed Gaganyaan flight, when it happens, will be closely watched as a test of the systems that are meant to eventually carry Indian astronauts into orbit.
