Indian space station to be fully operational by 2035, says minister

He was responding to a query by BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab. Singh said ISRO has worked out the overall configuration of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, the indigenous space station which will consist of five modules and is expected to be fully operational by 2035.

In September 2024, the Union Cabinet had approved the development and launch of the first module of Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS-01) by 2028.

The minister told the House that overall system engineering of the BAS-01 module and technology development activities of various subsystems was progressing well.

On a specific question about budgetary support, the minister said the allocation towards various precursor missions, development and launch of BAS-1 were included in the revised scope of the Gaganyaan programme, which has been enhanced with an additional funding in the already approved Gaganyaan programme to Rs 20,193 crore based on the approval from the Cabinet in September-2024.

“Development and launch of the first module of the Space Station base module (BAS-01) is targeted by 2028 and fully operational BAS with five modules is expected by 2035. ISRO is incorporating necessary international standards in the design of BAS-01 subsystems that would ensure interoperability of BAS-01 with systems provided by other international agencies,” said the government.

It added that through currently operational cooperation instruments with other space agencies, potential areas of collaboration, including joint development of technologies for Indian human space programme and support for utilising niche test facilities, were being explored.

Answering a question on the manner in which the space station project aligns with the upcoming Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the minister said, “Gaganyaan will be the first crewed demonstration mission that will enable demonstration of capabilities for safe human transportation to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and return back to Earth.”

“The Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) is the next logical step in the sustained Indian Human Space Programme. It will open up further avenues in space exploration, which will lead to utilisation of the unique microgravity environments in LEO for advanced scientific research and technology development activities as well as support Indian human exploration missions like an Indian landing on Moon as envisioned in India’s Space Vision-2047,” the government said.

So far, only three nations — the United States, Russia, and China — have independently operated their own space stations. Although Russia’s last one, Mir, was decommissioned in 2001.