Following an amazing 2023 in which the country landed a spacecraft on the Moon and launched another mission to study the Sun, the Indian Space Research Organisation will launch at least 12 launches this year, breaking previous records, chairman S Somanath stated on Monday.
“We are planning at least 12 missions for 2024. It may also go up depending on our ability to produce the hardware and complete testing,” Somanath stated at a press conference following the successful launch of India’s first polarimetry mission, the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, a space observatory that will study black holes and other celestial objects.
The space agency carried out a record seven missions in 2023, which included the landing of Chandrayaan-3 close to the lunar south pole and the launch of Aditya-L1, India’s first sun observatory, which is set to arrive at Lagrange Point 1 on January 6. The space agency carried out important technology demonstrations in addition to the launches, opening the stage for future missions for the Gaganyaan spacecraft and a reusable launch vehicle.
This year will be the “year for Gaganyaan”, Somanath stated. “2024 is going to be a year to prepare for Gaganyaan. We are targeting the launch for 2025, but this year we will be conducting at least two more rounds of tests before gearing up for the final mission,” he added.
India’s first human space flight mission, Gaganyaan, will send three astronauts to an orbit 400 kilometres above the earth’s surface for a three-day mission and safely return them. After a TV-D1 test flight demonstration in October, the agency will conduct a test flight with a humanoid robot called Vyomitra, as well as an unmanned flight, before the manned Gaganyaan mission, which might be set for 2025.