ISRO plans seven missions by March 2026; uncrewed Gaganyaan among key launches

ISRO has planned seven launch missions by March 2026, including the first uncrewed Gaganyaan flight, electric propulsion and quantum communication tests, and multiple commercial and strategic satellite launches using LVM3, GSLV and PSLV rockets

New Delhi: ISRO has lined up seven launch missions by March next year, including one to demonstrate home-built electric propulsion systems for satellite and quantum key distribution technologies, and the first uncrewed mission of the Gaganyaan project.

The first of the seven launches is expected to take place next week. India’s heaviest rocket?LVM3 will place in orbit the Bluebird-6 communication satellite for US-based AST Spacemobile through a commercial agreement with ISRO’s New Space India Limited (NSIL), Union minister Jitendra Singh recently told Parliament.

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The human-rated LVM3 will soar into the sky early next year, carrying the first uncrewed mission of India’s human spaceflight Gaganyaan with a robot ‘Vyommitra’? onboard the crew module.

One more uncrewed mission is planned for later next year before ISRO sends Indian astronauts into low Earth orbit in 2027. “First uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan to demonstrate end-to-end mission, including aerodynamics characterization of human-rated launch vehicle, mission operations of Orbital Module, re-entry and recovery of Crew Module,” Singh said.

Next year will also see the launch of India’s first industry-built Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that will put in orbit the Oceansat satellite. The PSLV will have two more passengers –? Indo-Mauritius Joint Satellite and LEAP-2 satellite of Dhruva Space.

To increase commercial launches of satellites, NSIL had given a contract to a HAL-L&T consortium to manufacture five PSLV rockets, under a technology transfer agreement signed in September this year.

An ISRO-built PSLV will put in orbit an earth observation satellite (EOS-N1) for a strategic user and 18 smaller satellites of Indian and international customers.

The GSLV-Mk II rocket is expected to launch the EOS-5 satellite or GISAT-1A, which will be a replacement for GISAT-1, which failed to reach the intended orbit in 2021.

The PSLV63 mission of ISRO will put in orbit the TDS-01 satellite to demonstrate technologies such as the high thrust electric propulsion system, the quantum key distribution, and the indigenous travelling wave tube amplifier.

The high Thrust Electric Propulsion System will enable ISRO to launch all-electric satellites in the future. This technology will make satellites lighter and reduce the dependence on chemical fuels.

“The technologies and components, once proved in TDS-01, will be employed in navigation and communication missions in the near future,” Singh said. A four-tonne communication satellite carries more than two tonnes of liquid fuel, which is used to fire thrusters to steer the satellite in space. But in the case of electric propulsion, fuel requirement reduces to just 200 kg, an official said.

As fuel mass is reduced, the electric propulsion system-based satellite will not weigh more than two tonnes but will still have the power of a 4-tonne satellite. The indigenous TWT (Travelling Wave Tube) Amplifier will enable self-reliance in critical technologies of satellite transponders.

The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will also launch a dedicated satellite before March 2026.