Overview

• Speaking at the India Today Conclave in Mumbai, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla said teams are actively designing the Bharatiya Antariksh Station as India’s permanent presence in orbit.
• Shukla described a modular, ISS‑like layout — likened to a “6‑BHK” — with an initial section focused on experiments, life‑support validation and spacewalk technologies.
• He said the first module will launch “soon,” while ISRO chairman V. Narayanan has previously stated a 2028 target for that debut element.
• The Union Cabinet has approved building the first module as part of an expanded Gaganyaan program, with officials having cited a goal of full operations by 2035 and a crewed Moon mission by 2040.
• Shukla’s recent Axiom‑4 flight to the ISS yielded experiment data intended to inform India’s human‑spaceflight systems and planning for the new station.