In December 2025, India’s space agency, ISRO, plans to launch Gaganyaan-1 (G1), the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission. This test trip, which will spend three days in low Earth orbit to thoroughly test the spacecraft’s vital systems, marks a significant turning point in India’s human spaceflight program.
Reports state that the mission’s goal is to evaluate critical technology needed for upcoming crewed missions, including as navigation, life support, re-entry procedures, and other safety measures necessary to launch astronauts into orbit and safely return them to Earth.
Before making a safe landing, the spacecraft will orbit at a low altitude after being launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Through this procedure, engineers will be able to track the spacecraft’s performance under actual circumstances, including launch stresses, microgravity, radiation exposure, and re-entry dynamics.
ISRO intends to do an integrated drop test in advance of the mission, which will release the crew module from a height to mimic a parachutist landing. Although the precise date of the test has not yet been disclosed, this drop test is essential for optimizing the recovery operations and guaranteeing the dependability of the landing systems.
The astronaut training program is still go forward in the interim. One of the four Indian Air Force officers chosen for the Gaganyaan mission, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is expected to return to India after finishing his recuperation training after the Ax-4 mission.
It is anticipated that the entire astronaut crew would return to rigorous training at the Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru in October. In order to fully prepare them for the impending crewed missions, they will train there in a simulator that mimics the launch, orbit, and re-entry phases.
As part of the Gaganyaan program, India hopes to send humans into space, and this uncrewed trip and the subsequent astronaut training constitute a significant technological and operational advancement for ISRO.
