• ! current value of Bharatiya space economy - $8.4bn
• $ target to reach $ 44bn by 2033

Big leap of ISRO:

• ISRO became one of the top 5 space agencies with full capabilities in
  • Earth observation
  • communication
  • navigation
  • planetary exploration
• It can now launch payloads ranging from 500kg to 8000kg into low, medium and high earth orbits with 4 operational launch vehicles.

PSLV:

• PSLV - reliable and cost effective
  • used for Chandrayaan and One web commercial launches
  • made in India
  • excellent choice for LEO and GEO payloads with 4t and 6t capacities respectively

SSLV:

• Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLV)

New launch pads:

• Near Bharat's southernmost tip - a new launchpad is being constructed to give the commercial launch industry unfettered access to launch privately developed launch vehicles into LEOs.

IRNSS (NavIC)

• Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
• operational name for NavIC - Navigation with Indian Constellation
• 1500km around Indian Mainland
• consists of 3 segments
  1. Space
  2. Ground
  3. User

AstroSat:

• Bharat's first space observatory
• launched on Sep 28, 2015
• by PSLV from SDSC, Sriharikota

Mars Orbiter Mission

• launched on 5th Nov, 2013
• placed in orbit on 24th Sep, 2014
• 8 year lifetime
• 5 scientific payloads
• lost contact in April, 2022

Chandrayaan versions pic

Chandrayaan - 1

• first spacecraft
• launched on 22 July, 2008
• Man in the Moon probe was the first artificial object to reach the moon's south pole

Chandrayaan 2

• launched on 22 July, 2019

Chandrayaan 3

• launched on 14 July, 2023
• landing near south pole of moon
• landed on 23 Aug, 2023 - National Space Day
• 14 lunar days
• Sulphur was detected
• initial ChaSTE experiment revealed the thermal behaviour of lunar surface

March 2025 - Chandrayaan-3 makes new Discovery

• ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 satellite has discovered that Moon’s ionosphere exhibits unexpectedly high electron densities when it enters the Earth’s geomagnetic tail shedding new light on how Plasma behaves in the lunar environment.

• Chandrayaan-3’s latest findings have significantly narrowed the search for water ice on the Moon 🌖!

• Using data from ISRO’s Vikram Lander, equipped with the ChaSTE surface drill, researchers measured temperatures up to 10 cm below the lunar surface.

• A sun-facing slope inclined at 6° recorded a peak temperature of 82°C during the lunar day, dropping to a frigid -168°C as lunar night approached. Just 1 meter away, a flat region peaked at a cooler 59°C.

• This temperature variation helped scientists develop a model showing that slopes inclined greater than 14°, facing away from the Sun near the Moon’s poles, could maintain temperatures low enough to harbor water ice only a few centimeters beneath the surface.

• These insights are crucial for mission planning and designing future lunar explorations, including the ISRO-JAXA LuPEx mission, where water prospecting and analysis will be key objectives to support long-term lunar habitation and resource utilization.

Chandrayaan 4

Chandrayaan 5

• SRO-JAXA Chandrayaan-5/LuPEx mission has received approval from the Union Cabinet
• It will consist of a lander built by ISRO and a rover built by JAXA, which will land near the South Pole of the Moon.
• Planned launch date - 2028 - 2029

Moon Landing Sites

July 2024

India Honored with World Space Award.

• India's Chandrayaan-3 wins the World Space Award for World's first ever successful landing at South Pole of Moon.
• Award ceremony to take place on 14th Oct, 2024.
• India also defeated everyone with its Superior Camera Quality. The Apollo11 landing site has been photographed by countries like the US, China, South Korea, and Japan…But it was the Chandrayaan-3 camera, which shows the best clarity.
  

Aditya L1

• first to solely focus on solar science
• 1.5mn kms from earth
• enter the halo orbit
• Lagrange point 1 - unaffected by eclipse or occultation
• 4 payloads to directly observe the sun
• 3 payloads to conduct in situ research on particles and fields

XPOSAT missions

Start of a New Year with a Successful 'Lit-off' - PSLV-C58 XPoSat Mission to study 'Black Holes'

ISRO launches X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) from the first launch-pad, SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

November 2023

NISAR

• NASA - ISRO Synthetic apparent temperature radar
• 🔸The NASA-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) successfully completes a crucial trial at Isro's compact antenna test facility.

🔸Scheduled for an early launch next year, NISAR is a joint Indian-US project designed to map the entire globe in 12 days, providing vital data on various environmental factors.

🔸The satellite aims to monitor changes in ecosystems, ice mass, vegetation biomass, sea level rise, and natural hazards, offering insights into the dynamics of forests, wetlands, and agricultural lands.

Man on Moon - Gaganyaan

February 2025

• ISRO has successfully tested the CE20 cryogenic engine with a multi-element igniter under vacuum conditions!
• This powerful engine is a key component for India’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission, bringing the country one step closer to human spaceflight.
• India’s first human Space mission "Gaganyaan" programme has entered its final phase, with the first human spaceflight now scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.

Bharat Space Station

Pushpak

• Isro successfully lands 'Pushpak', India’s first Reusable Launch Vehicle.

• "Isro nails it again! Pushpak (RLV-TD), the winged vehicle, landed autonomously with precision on the runway after being released from an off-nominal position," the space organisation wrote on X.

April 2024

The first military satellite of a private Indian company launched into Earth orbit

• The TSAT-1A spacecraft was completely developed and manufactured by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and is designed to observe the surface of our planet from low Earth orbit.

• It weighs less than 50 kg , and the resolution of the digital images it transmits is less than one meter per pixel.

• In addition, it is equipped with equipment for multispectral and hyperspectral imaging.

• Its large dynamic range and high data transfer rate are also particularly emphasized.

• The satellite was launched on April 7 from the John F. Kennedy Space Center launch pad in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket .

• However, it is worth noting that TSAT-1A will not be the only satellite in this series - the company intends to create an entire constellation of these spacecraft. It is planned to produce up to 25 satellites annually in partnership with Uruguayan Satellogic Inc.

November, 2024 - The Hindu

Bharat's GSAT-N2 (GSAT-20) communicaiton satellite launched by SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC 40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida

• Launched into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.
• GSAT-N2 is a Ka-band high throughput commu-nication satellite of New-Space India Ltd., which is the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation
• Enhance broadband services and in-flight connec-tivity across the Indian region. India’s first collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

PSLV's 61st flight for EU's PROBA - 3

The PSLV-C59/Proba-3 Mission, the 61st flight of PSLV and the 26th using its XL configuration, is set to carry the ESA’s PROBA-3 (Project for Onboard Auto-nomy) satellites.

Venture capital for space sector

• Establishment of Rs. 1000 crore Venture capital fund for Space sector under the aegis of IN-SPACe

• Expected to support 40 startup

January 2025

Successful SpaDeX docking mission

• India became the 4th country to achieve successful Space Docking, which was launched on December 30, 2024.
• ISRO’s PSLV-C60 launched twin SPADEX satellites on December 30,2024 and after injecting satellites at 475 km altitude, the specially configured upper stage (PS4) of PSLV-C60 (called PSLV Orbital Experimental Module in short POEM-4).POEM-4 hosted altogether 24 payloads (14 payloads from ISRO and 10 from various NGEs) and all payloads worked as expected yielding valuable science data.

Successful Atmospheric Re-entry of POEM-4 in April 2025

• The atmospheric re-entry event of POEM-4 was then closely monitored by ISRO System for Safe and Sustainable Space Operations Management (IS4OM) and regular updates in predictions were made.
• Finally, the POEM-4 module re-entered the atmosphere and impacted at 02:33 UTC (08:03 IST), April 04, 2025, in the Indian Ocean.
• The safe re-entry of POEM-4 is yet another accomplishment to ISRO’s commitment to contain the growth of space debris, reaffirming the prominent role of ISRO in the long-term sustainability of outer space environment and Debris Free Space Mission (DFSM)
• Impact point in the ocean - ![obsidian|300][photo_2025-04-05_00-43-25.jpg]

Third launch pad (TLP)

Establishment

Approved by the Union Cabinet at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Objective:

To support Next Generation Launch Vehicles (NGLV) and serve as a standby for the Second Launch Pad.

Key Features

• Universal & Adaptable Design: Supports NGLV, LVM3 with a Semi-cryogenic stage, and scaled-up configurations of NGLV.
• Timeline: Completion targeted within 48 months (4 years).
• Expenditure: Rs. 3984.86 crore.

Beneficiaries & Impact

• Boosts India’s space ecosystem and human spaceflight capacity.
• Enhances national capability for advanced space exploration missions.

India currently relies on

• First Launch Pad (FLP): For PSLV. • Second Launch Pad (SLP): For GSLV and LVM3.

For future missions

TLP fulfills the need for heavier launch vehicles, essential for projects under Amrit Kaal, such as: • Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) by 2035. • Indian Crewed Lunar Landing by 2040.

Significance

• Meets evolving space transportation needs for the next 25–30 years.
• Strengthens India’s ambitions in space exploration and boosts its position in the global space race.

100th Launch - NavSat

• ISRO sent a NVS-02, the second of five second - generation satellites developed by ISRO to replace the existing satellites in the country's navigation constellation Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System.

• The new generation satellite have a longer life span of 12 years and are also equipped with indigenously developed more accurate atomic clocks.

• These also utilise L1 frequency which is most commonly used in the US GPS and is likely to lead to more utilisation by smaller devices such as fitness trackers.

• The first satellite in the constellation IRNSS - 1A was launched in 2013, with a mission life of 10 years. The next 2 satellites were launched in the subsequent years. Replacements were needed for some of the satellites in the constellation even before the end of their mission life.

February 2025

Axiom 4 mission

IAF GC Shubanshu Shukla

• Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubanshu Shukla (return to space after 41 years) will pilot the Ax4 Mission to International Space Station on 10 June, and will be the first Indian to visit & conduct research on the Space Station in its 25 years of existence.

Gaganyaan mission precursor

Shukla, who has been a fighter pilot with the IAF for 15 years, is also one of the four astronauts selected for ISRO’s Gaganyaan Mission set for 2027.

Space Flight agreement with Axiom Space in 2024

Shukla’s participation in the Ax-4 Mission became possible after ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre in 2024 entered into a Space Flight Agreement with the NASA-identified service provider, Axiom Space.

IAF pilot Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair

The astronauts have been in quarantine since 25 May, and also have two back-up crew members, of whom one is IAF pilot Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, another Gaganyaan-designate.

Axiom Space - NASA identified service provider

The international human spaceflight mission by US-based space tech company Axiom Space is helmed by veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, and will launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft

The Ax-4 Mission will be flying on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, with Shukla being the first Indian to ever pilot a Dragon. Having been used in 51 different space missions, Dragon is the first ever privately made spacecraft capable of carrying humans to and from the ISS. The spacecraft will fly on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

Other astronauts

It will carry Whitson and Shukla, along with European mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), for a 14-day expedition to the ISS.

India, Poland, Hungary - first after 40 years

The Ax-4 mission will ‘realise the return’ to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years.

4th Axiom Mission in 4 years

This is the fourth Axiom Mission to the ISS in only four years, and the first ISS Mission for India, Hungary, and Poland.

Stay for 2 weeks

The astronauts will stay at the ISS for at least two weeks, with no scheduled return date yet. During their stay, the mission is expected to conduct at least 60 different space research experiments from various global institutions.

550 crores spent by ISRO

The mission, for which the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is spending Rs 550 crore in its collaboration with Axiom Space, is also significant for India’s space research initiatives.

8 research experiments by India

Eight different research experiments by India are being carried out by Shukla in his time on the ISS, from muscle regeneration to cyanobacteria growth.

Interact with STEAM students

While onboard the ISS, Shukla is expected to interact with Indian students as part of a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) outreach programme, as well as conduct various food and space nutrition-related experiments for ISRO and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Print

Axiom 4 getting delayed due to Russia's component in ISS

Space stations - June 2025

Privatise SSLV

• India is set to privatise ISRO’s SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle), with Adani Backed Alpha Design Technologies, Bharat Dynamics Limited, and HAL competing.
• The winner will pay ₹300 crore for design access as India targets a $44B space economy by 2030.

March 2025

India's first Mars Landing Mission

• Critical technologies
  • Supersonic Parachute
  • Aerodynamic Design for landing
  • Sky crane for rover deployment
• LVM3 will carry the rover equipped with a sky crane
• PSLV will launch the relay mars orbiter

Objective

• Ground penetrating radar that supports sub surface studies
• UV to TIR spectrometers that enables mineral mapping
• Raman Spectrometer that assists in bio signature detection
• Microscopic colour imager that analyses surface morphology and soil characteristics
• Stereo camera that will provide geological context and aid in navigation
• Dust Analyser to study the atmospheric dust
• Radiation budget monitoring for tracking the planet's radiation environment
• VNIR and IR camera on the relay orbiter will observe the martian disc and monitor atmospheric dynamics.

August 2025

ISRO targets 2027 launch for LVM 3 semi cryogenic propulsion stage

• Formerly known as GSLV Mk III
• ISRO's most powerful rocket to date
• This will enhance the payload capability while keeping costs down
• Currently capable of lifting 4200 kgs payloads to Geo Synchronous transfer orbit (GTO)
• The liquid propellant will be replaced by semi cryo stage, a propellant combination of refined kerosene and liquid oxygen (LOX)
• The propellant loading in the cryogenic upper stage, which uses the Liquid Hydrogen - LOX combination, will increase from 28 tonnes to 32 tonnes.
• Liquid fuelled vikas engine gives a nominal thrust of 80 tonnes, the SE 2000 semi cryogenic engine is designed to supply 200 tonnes. ¹

December 2025

Between January 2004 and December 2013, there were only 54 satellite launches including 31 foreign ones whereas Between January 2014 and November 2025, as many as 454 satellites were launched by ISRO including 398 foreign satellites.

7 satellites in 4 months

Dedicated earth observation platform to keep an eye on the strategically important Indian Ocean Region,

Oceansat-3A (EOS-10) for meteorological, oceanographic and land applications. The satellite has Ocean Colour Monitor, Scatterometer, Sea Surface Temperature Monitor, and Millimeter wave Atmospheric Temperature and Humidity Sounder as payloads. The satellite in tandem with Oceansat- 3 (EOS -06) will provide daily data for various applications.

Blue Bird Block-2 satellites, a new generation communication satellites developed by US firm AST SpaceMobile to provide direct-to-smartphone satellite internet connectivity.

Technology Demonstration Satellite (TDS-01) to demonstrate new technologies such as high Thrust electric propulsion system, indigenous TWT (Travelling Wave Tube) amplifier and quantum key distribution.

The first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan will demonstrate aerodynamics characterisation of human rated launch vehicle, mission operations of the Orbital Module, and re-entry and recovery of Crew Module.

Others include a second strategic satellite, an Indo-Mauritius joint satellite to be launched by the first industry-made PSLV and the first commercial flight of the small satellite launch vehicle, a rocket meant to provide launch-on-demand service to the industry

In 2022, the New Space India Limited awarded a contract to a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-L&T consortium to build five Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles. The first of the five will be among the seven launches planned in the first quarter of 2026. Subsequently HAL has bagged another contact to manufacture the SSLVs for 10 years. Deccan Herald

March 2026

Australia support for Gaganyaan

• The ISRO's tracking antenna and NOVA systems control, storage and mess containers arriving at Site-V of the old quarantine station on the Cocos Islands.
• This marks Australia's support for India's Gaganyaan Human Space Flight Program. X

References

Footnotes

1. The Hindu 03.08.2025 ↩