India is working to establish its own space station by 2035, marking a major expansion of the country’s human spaceflight ambitions.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V Narayanan said at the third National Space Day celebrations in Ahmedabad. The first module of the proposed Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) has already been approved.
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Bharatiya Antariksha Station Gets Government Approval
V Narayanan further added that the space station is being developed alongside the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.
“India has moved steadily from building basic satellites and launch systems to undertaking lunar missions, human spaceflight and advanced space applications.”
-he said.
Reports suggest that the initial station modules could be installed in space from 2027. ISRO’s latest annual report, however, puts the launch of the first BAS module in 2028, with the complete station targeted for 2035. The station is part of India’s broader Space Vision 2047.
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Narayanan said India’s space programme, which began 64 years ago, now supports citizens across more than 50 areas. These include Earth observation, remote sensing, telecommunications, television broadcasting, tele-education, disaster warnings, navigation and real-time monitoring and tracking.
Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, speaking at the Ahmedabad event, said Chandrayaan-3’s landing near the Moon’s south polar region and the location named Shiv Shakti Point led to the creation of National Space Day.
He also pointed to the growing role of private companies in India’s space sector. According to Shekhawat, private participation has created new opportunities while expanding ISRO’s operational capacity. He said the time required to develop applications, manufacture satellites, build payloads, and launch satellites has also fallen substantially.
India’s next phase will therefore be measured not only by individual missions but by its ability to sustain human activity in space. With Gaganyaan, the Bharatiya Antariksha Station and longer-term plans for a crewed Moon mission, the country is building the infrastructure for a larger role in the global space economy.
The BAS programme could become an important test for India’s space-tech ecosystem, particularly for private companies involved in satellites, launch systems, space medicine, robotics and mission infrastructure.
Samarjit Kaur is a journalist and communications professional covering technology & emerging digital trends. With a focus on clarity and context, she reports on developments shaping industries and governance. When not reporting, she chooses to plug-in and relax on her playlists and plan her next bucket-list trips!
