Year-ender 2025: India’s Space Programme in 2025

Syllabus: GS3/Space

Context

• The Department of Space’s year-end review shows a year focused not just on launches, but on mastering complex capabilities needed for human spaceflight, future space stations and a competitive commercial ecosystem.

Major Achievements

• Docking, biology and in-orbit experiments: The SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment) mission, launched aboard PSLV-C60. Two spacecraft successfully docked and undocked in orbit, essential for future space stations and crewed missions.
  • CROPS-1, India’s initial space biology experiment on the POEM-4 platform. Cowpea seeds germinated and grew to the two-leaf stage in microgravity, providing early insights into plant growth systems critical for long-duration human missions.
  • POEM-4 itself completed 1,000 orbits, hosting 24 payloads from ISRO and private entities.
• Solar science and Earth observation: ISRO released the first scientific datasets from Aditya-L1, India’s solar observatory positioned at the Sun-Earth L1 point.
  • The data, shared globally, offers insights into the Sun’s photosphere, chromosphere and corona, strengthening India’s profile in solar and space weather research.
  • The launch of the ISRO-NASA joint satellite NISAR later in the year further elevated India’s role in global Earth monitoring.
• Launch infrastructure and propulsion advances: The Union Cabinet approved the Third Launch Pad at Sriharikota, aimed at supporting next-generation launch vehicles and human spaceflight missions.
  • ISRO marked its 100th launch from Sriharikota with GSLV-F15, while also achieving milestones in propulsion.
• Human spaceflight gathers momentum: ISRO conducted the first integrated air drop test of the Gaganyaan crew module parachute system, a critical safety milestone.
  • Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla flew to the International Space Station aboard the Axiom-04 mission, spending 18 days in orbit conducting microgravity experiments.
  • Complementing this were space medicine initiatives, analog missions in Ladakh’s Tso Kar Valley, and a new framework agreement with Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST) to deepen research in astronaut health and biomedical systems.
• Indigenous technology and industry participation: India advanced its push for self-reliance with the delivery of its first fully indigenous 32-bit space-grade microprocessors—VIKRAM3201 and KALPANA3201—developed with SCL Chandigarh.
  • ISRO also signed a technology transfer agreement to commercialise the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), opening the door for industry-led launches.
  • Private sector participation expanded further with the successful static test of the KALAM-1200 solid rocket motor developed by a startup.
• Global engagement and future vision: India assumed a leadership role in the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, hosted the Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX) 2025.
  • Internally, the Department of Space held Chintan Shivir 2025 to refine strategies for implementing Space Vision 2047, which envisions an expanded human presence in space, stronger commercial participation and advanced scientific missions.
  • From docking experiments and space biology to human spaceflight and global collaboration, 2025 underscored India’s transition from a launch-capable nation to a comprehensive space power—laying the groundwork for ambitious goals in the decades ahead.

Conclusion

• India’s space programme marked a defining phase in 2025, combining major technological demonstrations, deeper global partnerships and a clear push towards long-term goals under Space Vision 2047. 

Source: DD