ISRO Gears Up For Busy 2025 with Half-Dozen Big Launches
ISRO Gears Up For Busy 2025 with Half-Dozen Big Launches
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set for a busy 2025, with space minister Jitendra Singh announcing that half-a-dozen big missions are lined up for launch in the first half of the year. These missions include sending a female robot, Vyommitra, to space as part of the unmanned Gaganyaan mission and launching the world’s most expensive Indo-US co-produced earth imaging satellite, NISAR.
The year will kick off with the launch of an advanced navigation satellite, NVS-02, in January, marking ISRO’s 100th mission. This will be followed by the launch of Vyommitra, which will test the capabilities of the Gaganyaan spacecraft before astronauts are sent to space.
“Once everything goes right in the Vyommitra mission, astronauts will be sent to space,” Jitendra Singh said, highlighting the significance of the mission.
Other notable missions planned for 2025 include:
- – NISAR Satellite Launch: Scheduled for March, this Indo-US joint mission will scan nearly all land and ice every 12 days, providing high-resolution images.
- – LVM3-M5 Mission: Slated for the first quarter, this mission will launch a satellite for an international customer, showcasing India’s growing capabilities in the space economy.
- – Gaganyaan Manned Mission: While an exact date has not been announced, the success of the Vyommitra mission will pave the way for India’s first manned spaceflight.
ISRO has also generated significant revenue from commercial satellite launches, with over $400 million earned from launches for the US and EU over the past decade. This figure is expected to increase in the coming years.
With four GSLV rockets, three PSLV launches, and an SSLV launch planned for 2025, ISRO Chairman S Somanath has dubbed the year “very exciting”.
