Overview
- ISRO says Gaganyaan is about 90% ready after system-level safety work, parachute validations and ground simulations, with the first uncrewed G1 mission planned for 2026 and a crewed flight targeted for 2027.
- India executed SPADEX’s on-orbit docking and undocking of twin satellites in January, becoming the fourth nation to demonstrate docking and power transfer in space.
- Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla spent 18 days on the ISS, piloted a Dragon capsule segment, and completed seven microgravity experiments spanning biology and cognition.
- ISRO launched the NASA–ISRO NISAR mission on GSLV-F16 and later orbited the 4,400 kg CMS-03 satellite, which marked the first in-space restart of the C25 cryogenic engine.
- Private activity scaled with Pixxel’s first Firefly satellites and Digantara’s SCOT sensor, while the year also saw two failed national-security launches, a Cabinet-approved Third Launch Pad, and policy steps to spur domestic manufacturing.