India's Department of Space has outlined plans to send its first astronaut to space next year, establish a space station by 2035, and land an Indian on the Moon by 2045.

Minister of Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh called establishing the Bhartiya Antariksh Station - which was first publicly announced in 2019 - and the placing of India’s first man on the Moon as "cornerstone projects" of the nation's space program.

The Bharatiya Antariksha Station is intended to house astronauts for 15 to 20 days at an orbit of around 400km above the Earth and was initially planned to be completed by 2030.

The crewed lunar landing plan date has also slipped from a previous target of 2040.

Gaganyaan - India’s mission to launch an astronaut to space in 2025 - was originally set to happen by 2022. That date has repeatedly slid - in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also so that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) could focus on safety.

The Gaganyaan spacecraft is designed to carry three crew members and orbit the Earth for up to seven days.

The mission timeline update was made at an event ahead of India's first National Space Day. The day falls on the first anniversary of the success of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, which landed a craft named Vikram on the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-3 saw India become the first nation to land in the Moon's southern polar region and the fourth country to ever land a rover on the Moon at all.

"Chandrayaan 3 was a milestone: Chandrayaan 4 and 5 will follow," declared Singh.

ISRO chairman S Somanath revealed earlier this week that the space agency has completed designs for the two follow on missions and is seeking government approval.

Chandrayaan-4 is a planned lunar sample return mission that will also demonstrate a space docking experiment in lunar orbit. It is currently slated for launch in 2028.

Chandrayaan-5 is expected to explore establishment of a long-term presence on the natural satellite.

In a message to commemorate National Space Day, Sing highlighted the growth experienced in India's space sector and alluded to a coming "quantum jump" that would see the space economy become very important to India in the coming years.

The minister said over Rs 1,000 crore ($120.5 million) of recent investment enabled a surge of space-related startups in India. According to Singh, India has around 300 such startups, many with global potential.

He also embarked on a lovefest for prime minister Narendra Modi, for enabling a space economy in the nation. Singh alleged that India was never lacking in intelligence, talent nor drive when it came to developing a space industry but was in fact, experiencing huge brain drain for space professionals who did not have domestic career options.

"What was lacking was the kind of enabling atmosphere - the kind of enabling environment, the kind of enabling ecosystem - which is provided by the political leadership of the country, which is provided by the policy makers of the country. And that deficiency existed before PM Modi came in," lamented Singh.

At the event , Singh cited a recent budget speech from finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and predicted the economy will increase by five times in the next ten years. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/08/23/india_space_timeline/