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ISRO targets first Gaganyaan test in four months
NDTV··23 Aug
On 23 August 2026 in Ahmedabad, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said the first uncrewed Gaganyaan flight is expected within four months. He said about 8,000 tests are complete and that three uncrewed missions will come before a crewed flight. ISRO has not recorded a successful launch so far in 2026. The update came on National Space Day.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you follow Indian launches, the new date is a first uncrewed Gaganyaan attempt inside four months, after a year with no successful flight yet.
- Anyone tracking the astronaut programme should note three uncrewed tests are still required before a crew flies.
- If you work on satellite bookings this year, the chairman also named eight launch-vehicle missions and 12 satellites for the financial year.
What's Happening
- Narayanan said the programme is in the final leg after 8,000 completed tests.
- The first mission is designed to prove the vehicle and life support without putting a crew at risk.
- Parliament was told the first uncrewed ship is to fly with Vyommitra in late 2026.
What Four Months Means For Gaganyaan
- Gaganyaan is the project that would make India the fourth country to send its own crew on its own spacecraft if the later crewed flight succeeds.
- The 2026 launch drought is why the chairman tied the test flight to ending a blank year, not only to the human-spaceflight roadmap.
- The 2035 space-station goal is a separate approved module, not part of the four-month G-1 attempt.
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