Indian Human Spaceflight Programme
Gaganyaan astronaut insignia | |
| Program overview | |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Organization | Human Space Flight Centre (ISRO) |
| Purpose | Human spaceflight |
| Status | Active |
| Programme history | |
| Cost | ₹20,193 crore (US$2.4 billion) |
| Duration | 2006–present |
| First flight | Gaganyaan-1 (Q1 2026) |
| First crewed flight | Gaganyaan-4 (NET Q2 2027) |
| Launch site | Satish Dhawan Space Centre |
| Vehicle information | |
| Launch vehicle |
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The Indian Human Spaceflight Programme (or the Gaganyaan programme) is an ongoing project by ISRO to develop the technology needed to launch crewed spacecraft into low Earth orbit.
Before the Gaganyaan programme announcement in August 2018, human spaceflight was not a priority for ISRO, though related technologies have been developed since 2007, and it performed a Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment and a Pad Abort Test for the programme. In December 2018, the Indian government approved a further ₹100 billion (US$1.5 billion) for a 7-day crewed flight of 2–3 astronauts. Three uncrewed flights, named Gaganyaan-1, Gaganyaan-2 and Gaganyaan-3 are scheduled to launch in the 2020s, followed by a crewed flight on an HLVM3 rocket. To date, mission has been postponed several times until all certification requirements are completed.
If completed successfully, India will become the fourth nation to conduct independent human spaceflight after the Soviet Union (Russia), United States, and China. After conducting the first crewed spaceflights, the agency intends to start a space station programme, crewed lunar landings, and crewed interplanetary missions in the long term.