ISRO to triple spacecraft output, launch Chandrayaan-4 in 2028: Chairman V Narayanan

Kolkata: ISRO is gearing up for one of its busiest times with seven more launches planned this financial year, even as India's first human spaceflight remains scheduled for 2027, its chairman V Narayanan said.

In an interview with PTI, he said ISRO is preparing for a phase of rapid scaling in science, technology and industry capacity.

Narayanan said ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is targeting seven more launches before the end of the current financial year, including a commercial communication satellite, and multiple PSLV and GSLV missions. A milestone will be the launch of the first PSLV manufactured entirely by the Indian industry.

The ISRO chief said the government has approved the Chandrayaan-4 mission, designed as a lunar sample-return mission and it will be India's most complex lunar endeavour yet.

"We are targeting 2028 for Chandrayaan-4," he said.

Another key mission is LUPEX, the joint lunar polar exploration programme with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

ISRO is simultaneously working to triple its annual spacecraft production in the next three years to keep pace with expanding mission demand.

Chandrayaan-4 will attempt to bring back samples from the moon -- a capability currently demonstrated only by the US, Russia and China.

LUPEX aims to study water ice at the lunar south pole.

Narayanan 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.

The endeavour would make India the third major nation to operate a space station, as the US-led ISS nears its end and China's Tiangong moves into full operation.

On India's maiden human-spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, Narayanan clarified that only the timeframe for uncrewed missions has shifted.

"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 precede the first flight with Indian astronauts.

He said 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 long-term human-spaceflight plan now aligns it with the world's leading space powers. The US plans lunar crewed missions under Artemis, while China has set a 2030 target for its first crewed moon landing.

India's share in the global space economy is currently around 2 per cent, and ISRO is working towards increasing it to 8 per cent by 2030, Narayanan said.

India's space economy is currently valued at around USD 8.2 billion and is projected to grow to USD 44 billion by 2033, while the global space economy, he said, stands at about USD 630 billion currently and could reach USD 1.8 trillion by 2035.

He said the space-sector reforms have sharply increased private participation.

Narayanan said more than 450 industries and 330 startups are now active in India's space ecosystem -- a massive rise from just three startups a few years ago.

"We now have a vibrant base ecosystem, and it will grow further," he said.

India's private space industry has accelerated post regulatory reforms in 2020, enabling private rocket development, satellite manufacture and commercial launch services.