Seven launches ahead as ISRO prepares Chandrayaan-4 mission for 2028

ISRO chairman V Narayanan has said the space agency is preparing for a significant expansion in its mission load, including seven more launches this financial year and a planned 2028 timeline for the Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample-return mission.

In an interview with PTI, Narayanan said ISRO is entering a phase of rapid scaling across science, technology and industrial capacity.

He said the agency aims to complete seven additional launches by March 2026, including a commercial communication satellite and multiple PSLV and GSLV missions.

One of the major milestones will be the launch of the first PSLV fully manufactured by Indian industry.

He confirmed that the government has approved Chandrayaan-4, which will attempt to return lunar soil samples to Earth — a capability achieved so far only by the US, Russia and China.

ISRO is also working with Japan’s JAXA on LUPEX, the joint mission to study water ice at the lunar south pole.

Narayanan said ISRO plans to triple its annual spacecraft production over the next three years to keep pace with expanding demand.

He also said ISRO has begun work on an Indian Space Station, targeted for completion by 2035. “The first of the five modules will be placed in orbit by 2028,” he said in the interview.

On the Gaganyaan programme, Narayanan clarified that the schedule for the crewed mission remains unchanged. “Let me make it clear: the uncrewed mission was targeted for 2025. The crewed mission was always planned for 2027, and we are holding on to that date,” he said. Three uncrewed test missions will be conducted before astronauts fly.

He told PTI that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also directed ISRO to work towards sending Indian astronauts to the lunar surface and bringing them back safely by 2040.

India’s current share in the global space economy is around two per cent, and ISRO aims to raise it to eight per cent by 2030.

Narayanan said India’s space economy is valued at about USD 8.2 billion and is projected to reach USD 44 billion by 2033.

The global space economy, he said, stands at USD 630 billion and could rise to USD 1.8 trillion by 2035.

He said space-sector reforms have led to a sharp rise in private participation, with more than 450 industries and 330 startups now working in India’s space ecosystem, compared with just three startups a few years ago.

He said India’s private space sector has accelerated after the 2020 reforms that opened rocket development, satellite manufacturing and commercial launches to private entities.