The Gaganyaan programme is the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme, an ongoing national scheme by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop the indigenous capability to launch crewed spacecraft into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Preliminary studies for the project began in 2006 under the name "Orbital Vehicle," but the program was formally announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2018, and approved by the Union Cabinet on December 28, 2018, with an initial outlay of approximately ₹10,000 crore. The core objective is to demonstrate India's self-reliance in human spaceflight, which, if successful, will make India the fourth nation to achieve this feat after the Soviet Union (Russia), the United States, and China.
The mission mechanism involves launching a crew of three members to an orbit of 400 km for a duration of 3 to 7 days. The launch vehicle is the human-rated LVM3 (HLVM3). The spacecraft, known as the Orbital Module (OM), comprises the Crew Module (CM), which provides a habitable, Earth-like environment, and the Service Module (SM), which supplies propulsion and power. Crew safety is ensured by the Crew Escape System (CES), a "Puller Type" mechanism designed to rapidly detach the CM in an emergency during the launch or ascent phase. The mission plan includes two uncrewed test flights, with the second (G2) carrying the humanoid robot Vyommitra, before the final crewed mission (G3).
The program is spearheaded by ISRO's Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC). While the crewed mission was initially targeted for December 2021, it has been postponed, with the latest timeline set for the first quarter of 2027. The Gaganyaan programme is a foundational step, as its technologies are expected to feed into the development of the future Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035.