On October 21, ISRO altered the launch schedule for its maiden Test Vehicle D1 mission, part of the Gaganyaan human space flight project. Originally set for an 8 AM liftoff from Sriharikota, the rocket was relaunched 45 minutes later following an initial unsuccessful attempt, possibly due to rainy and cloudy weather conditions. ISRO has launched another mission named ‘Gaganyaan’.

ISRO Upcoming Missions–

GAGANYAAN

India’s inaugural crewed space mission will carry three astronauts into a 400-kilometer orbit for a three-day mission, concluding with a splashdown in Indian waters. ISRO successfully tested systems for stabilizing the crew module during re-entry. Earlier this year, around $1.08 billion was allocated for the Gaganyaan program.

NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) SATELLITE

NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) is a collaborative low-Earth orbit observatory system designed by NASA and ISRO. It will chart the entire planet every 12 days, providing crucial data on environmental changes, ice mass fluctuations, vegetation biomass, sea level shifts, groundwater levels, and natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and landslides. The SUV-sized satellite is slated for launch in the first quarter of the following year, with a target launch date in February.

X-RAY POLARIMETER SATELLITE (XPoSat)

India is developing its first dedicated polarimetry mission to investigate cosmic X-ray sources. This mission aims to explore new frontiers in high-energy astrophysics and conduct in-depth studies of neutron stars and black hole sources. An official launch date for this mission has yet to be announced.

SPADEX

SPADEX, or Space Docking Experiment, is a dual-spacecraft mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation to advance technologies related to orbital rendezvous, docking, and formation flying. The campaign includes two 200 kg satellites, Chaser and Target, launched together as auxiliary payloads into slightly different orbits. The launch is scheduled for the third quarter of 2024 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, with ₹124.47 crore funding sanctioned as of July 2022.

FAQs

What are some of ISRO’s upcoming missions?

ISRO has a diverse lineup of missions planned, including:
Gaganyaan: India’s first human spaceflight mission, aiming to send a crew of 3 astronauts to space by 2024-2025.
ISRO Gaganyaan mission
Aditya-L1: A mission to study the Sun’s corona, launched successfully on February 28, 2023.
ISRO AdityaL1 mission
Chandrayaan-4: Planned to be a lunar sample return mission, following up on Chandrayaan-3.

What is the current status of the Gaganyaan mission?

The Gaganyaan mission is currently undergoing a series of tests and development phases. Uncrewed test flights are planned before a crewed mission takes place.