In 2023, ISRO marked a milestone with a total of seven successful missions. Among these achievements was the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar south pole and the introduction of India’s first sun observatory, Aditya-L1.
In 2024, Chairman S. disclosed that ISRO plans to surpass its record with at least 12 launches for the year. Somanath. He emphasized that this number could increase based on the organization’s capacity to produce hardware and complete testing.
Reflecting on the past year’s accomplishments, the space agency not only executed groundbreaking missions but also launched the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, a space observatory designed to explore black holes and other celestial phenomena.
Somanath emphasized that in 2024, India will focus on its first human space flight mission, Gaganyaan. Despite aiming for an official launch in 2025, the preceding year will involve conducting two rounds of tests to guarantee the safety and efficiency of all systems. Gaganyaan aims to carry a crew of three astronauts into orbit 400 km above Earth for a three-day mission.
As a prelude to the manned mission, ISRO plans to conduct a test flight featuring a humanoid robot named Vyomitra and an unmanned flight. These steps are crucial to validating critical technologies, including a human-rated launch vehicle, a life support system, and an emergency escape mechanism.
The Gaganyaan mission’s preparatory stages have seen ISRO collaborate with the Indian Navy for recovery trials of the crew module and testing of the propulsion system. These initiatives underscore ISRO’s commitment to ensuring the success and safety of India’s first human space flight mission.