31-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Nine more missions planned before March 2026, announces ISRO chief V Narayanan
BENGALURU: Soon after the successful launch of the ISRO-NASA Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) on Wednesday, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan announced that they are going to have a lot more missions this year.
'Nine major launches have been scheduled to be launched before the end of this financial year (March 2026). The next major mission is the LVM3-M5 mission. LVM3 will launch the communication satellite CMS-02. Subsequently, the next PSLV mission is the PSLV-C-62 targeted for launching a user-funded satellite,' he said.
Narayanan said that the next mission that will follow will be the first PSLV realised by the industrial consortium called PSLV-N1 and it is being launched after the Union Government announced major reforms in the space sector. This launch will be rolled out by the private industry consortium, where technological demonstrations will be showcased. Over 30 technologies, including electric propulsion, quantum communication, and many other technologies are planned to be demonstrated.
He added that ISRO will also launch one more GSLV-F17 vehicle to place the navigation satellite NVS-03 in orbit this financial year. 'Yet another important mission in collaboration with NASA will be launched. After the success of the Axiom and NISAR, we will be launching the BlueBird Block-2 satellite. This is a communication satellite of the US. We will launch it using our LVM-3 vehicle. Also, a PSLV-C63 is targeted to launch the OceanSat-3A and the GSL-F18 is going to launch GSAT-1A. ISRO is also targeting to launch a couple of SSLV missions,' he added. Speaking to TNIE, Narayanan said the BlueBird Block-2 satellite will be a commercial communication satellite weighing 6500 kg. The satellite will launch on ISRO's LVM3-M5 rocket, and the aim is to enhance all communication services globally.
'No dateline has been set for the launch missions. All are in the advanced stages of completion and testing, and the date of launch will be set in consultation with the PM,' Narayanan said.
