NEW DELHI: Astronaut and group captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Thursday said the first module of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, India’s upcoming space station, will be launched soon.“Plans are in place, teams are working, and the first module of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station will be launched soon,” Shukla said at the India Today Conclave in Mumbai.
Explaining the design, Shukla compared it to a “6 BHK apartment” that will grow in stages and provide living space for Indian astronauts in low-earth orbit to conduct experiments.Isro chairman V Narayanan had earlier announced that the first module would be launched in 2028. The module is the first of five parts that will make up the full station at 450 km altitude. The Union Cabinet has already cleared the project as part of an expanded Gaganyaan programme, India’s first crewed mission. India aims to make the station fully operational by 2035 and send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2040. The first module is being designed for microgravity research and spacewalk technologies. Isro says the station will support scientific work, technology development, and new innovations that could benefit industries on Earth. A model of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station was unveiled in New Delhi on National Space Day in August this year. Key features include an Indian-built life support system, docking and berthing systems, automated hatch, and viewports for research and recreation. During his recent mission to the International Space Station on SpaceX Dragon, Shukla carried out experiments on muscle regeneration, algal and seed growth, tardigrades, cyanobacteria, and human interaction with displays in microgravity.
