India’s first crewed space mission is closer than ever — but not quite there yet. ISRO’s Gaganyaan programme is targeting March 2026 for its first uncrewed orbital test flight (G1), with the crewed mission now pushed to 2027.
What’s been done
ISRO has cleared the hard milestones. The TV-D1 abort test (October 2023) proved the Crew Escape System works — making India the fourth country to test this life-saving technology. TV-D2, reusing the refurbished crew module from TV-D1, is scheduled next.
In August 2025, ISRO conducted the first Integrated Air Drop Test. A 4.8-tonne dummy crew capsule dropped from an IAF Chinook at 3 km altitude validated parachute deployment. Over 8,000 ground tests have been completed across structural, propulsion, and environmental parameters, per ISRO’s Gaganyaan programme page.
What’s next
The G1 uncrewed mission, scheduled for March 2026, will send the spacecraft with Vyommitra — ISRO’s half-humanoid robot — into low Earth orbit. Vyommitra will simulate astronaut conditions and test life-support systems. Two more uncrewed flights (G2, G3) are planned before the crewed attempt.
The first crewed flight (H1) will carry three of the four selected vyomanauts — announced by PM Modi in February 2024: Group Captains Prasanth Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap, and Shubhanshu Shukla. Shukla also trained at NASA for the Indo-US Axiom-4 mission.
The numbers
Total programme budget: Rs 20,193 crore (~$2.4 billion) — after the Cabinet added Rs 11,170 crore for follow-on missions. The Department of Space got Rs 13,705 crore in the Union Budget 2026-27. For context, NASA’s Artemis I alone cost over $4 billion. ISRO is attempting human spaceflight at a fraction of that.
Why it matters
Success would make India the fourth nation — after the US, Russia, and China — to independently send humans to space. Beyond national prestige, Gaganyaan is the anchor for India’s growing private space ecosystem. Companies like Skyroot, Agnikul, and Pixxel are building on the infrastructure and talent pipeline Gaganyaan creates.
Sources: ISRO Gaganyaan page, PIB, Space.com