The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced a record mission cadence of 27 space missions for FY 2026–27 — the most ambitious annual schedule in India’s space history. Four missions are dedicated to the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, with Gaganyaan-1 (uncrewed, carrying the Vyommitra half-humanoid robot) scheduled for H2 2026 and the first crewed Indian spaceflight planned for Q1 2027.
Gaganyaan Programme — Mission Sequence
Mission
Type
Planned
Key Detail
Gaganyaan-1
Uncrewed (with Vyommitra)
H2 2026
Half-humanoid robot; validates life-support systems
Arabian Sea (Indian Navy responsible for recovery)
Abort system
Crew Escape System (CES) — tested in test vehicle mission TV-D1 (Oct 2023)
Selected Gaganyaan Astronauts
All four selected astronauts are Indian Air Force (IAF) Test Pilots:
Astronaut
Background
Group Capt. Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair
IAF test pilot; trained at Russian GCTC
Group Capt. Ajit Krishnan
IAF test pilot; GCTC, Moscow
Group Capt. Angad Pratap
IAF test pilot; GCTC, Moscow
Wing Cdr. Shubhanshu Shukla
IAF test pilot; also assigned to AXIOM-4 ISS mission (SpaceX)
Shubhanshu Shukla is additionally assigned to the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station — making him India’s first astronaut to visit the ISS under a private commercial mission.
Vyommitra — ISRO’s Half-Humanoid Robot
Feature
Detail
Name
Vyommitra (Sanskrit: Vyom = Space + Mitra = Friend)
Type
Half-humanoid (upper body only, no legs)
Developer
ISRO + Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
Purpose
Monitor cabin parameters, simulate crew activities, interact with life-support panel
This content was researched and written in collaboration with Claude AI (Anthropic). Key facts are verified against web sources before publishing — but errors can occasionally slip through. If you spot something incorrect, our team wants to fix it immediately.
