October 24, 2025

Bengaluru is buzzing with excitement! ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan dropped some big news on October 23, 2025, about India’s space adventures. Ready for a rocket ride? ISRO plans two heavy-lift LVM-3 launches before the year ends. The first will send CMS-03 (also called GSAT7-R) into orbit, likely around November 2. The second will launch BlueBird-6, a massive 6.5-tonne private US communications satellite, arriving in India just on October 19. Narayanan said, "We have received the satellite and are working for the launch, and the launch vehicle build-up is going on." What about NASA-ISRO's NISAR satellite launched in July? It’s in the calibration stage and will be fully ready in 10 to 15 days. The chairman added, "The satellite is healthy and both the payloads are working well." The hot topic everyone’s waiting for: Gaganyaan, India’s first human spaceflight! Narayanan revealed, "90 per cent work on the Gaganyaan project was complete." The mission is on track, aiming for launch by 2027. What’s brewing with Chandrayaan-4, the moon mission? The project is currently in the design phase. This ambitious mission plans to land softly on the moon, bring back moon rocks and soil, launch a spacecraft from the moon, and perform docking experiments in lunar orbit. Narayanan explained, "Right now, we are working on the design phase and its approved projects. Also establishing the infrastructure that is the basic standard." India’s homegrown navigation system, NavIC, is growing too. With four satellites already orbiting and three more under construction, Narayanan said, "Yes, there were setbacks, but we're working on it." The constellation will be complete within 18 months. ISRO also faced a hiccup with the NVS-02 satellite, which faced a valve malfunction and couldn’t reach circular orbit. The failure analysis committee has found the fault, and Narayanan stated, "The recommendation of the committee will be placed before the government." Looking ahead, Narayanan shared exciting plans: by 2027, India will triple the number of its satellites (currently 56) and launch its own space station, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, by 2035. The first module is already approved and will go up by 2028. On the launch vehicle front, India started in 1980 with a 35 kg-capacity launcher. Now, ISRO is working on a next-generation rocket that can carry 30,000 kg to low Earth orbit. Even bigger dreams are in the pipeline for a crewed lunar mission launcher that can lift 75,000 to 80,000 kg. Narayanan shared, "We are in the conceiving phase. We have not completed the design but it has to lift off something about 75,000 to 80,000 kg type of mass it has to lift off. That is the type of work that is going on." ISRO's space adventure has been incredible: so far, it has launched 433 satellites from 34 countries, with 95% of foreign satellite launches in the last decade alone. Narayanan proudly said, "This shows the exponential growth of the space sector. Initially, we were going through the experimental phase, gradually we moved to operational phase. Today we have exponential growth." ISRO’s space journey is reaching new heights and promises thrilling rides to the stars in the years ahead!

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Tags: Isro, Lvm-3, Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-4, Navic, Bluebird-6,