Cabinet oks space station, Venus Orbiter & Chandrayaan-4 mission

The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved a mission to build the country's first space station module, the Chandrayaan-4 that aims to return to the earth with lunar samples, and the country's first mission to Venus.

"Great news for the space sector! The Union cabinet has approved the first step towards the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), expanding the Gaganyaan programme! This landmark decision brings us closer to a self-sustained space station by 2035 and a crewed lunar mission by 2040!" Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X.

The programme aims to develop the first module of the space station and conduct missions to validate various technologies for building and operating the station, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a press briefing in Delhi.

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairman S Somanath who also attended the press meet said Isro is working under a definite timeline. "The goal given to us is to have a full-fledged (space) station by 2035. Our plan is to launch the first module of the station called BAS-1 by 2028. For doing that, we have limitations on launch vehicle capabilities," he said.

Somanath also said the highlight of the fourth lunar mission is that it will come back from the moon.

"Landing on the moon has already been demonstrated in Chandrayaan-3. If we must send a man to the moon in 2040, we need to gather the technology and have confidence in it. The purpose of Chandrayaan-4 is to do it at a low cost," he said.

The lunar spacecraft will consist of five modules in two stacks. Stack one will consist of the ascender module that will ascend with the lunar sample, and the descender module that will assist in lunar sample collection. Stack two will consist of the propulsion module, transfer module, and re-entry module.

India is also targeting the first flight of the next generation launch vehicle (NGLV) in the next seven years.

While Chandrayaan-4 is scheduled for launch in 2027, Shukrayaan or Venus Orbiter Mission is scheduled for launch in March 2028. The first NGLV is scheduled for launch in 2031, and BAS-1 and eight Gaganyaan spacecrafts are scheduled for December 2028.

The space programme includes eight human spaceflight missions.

"Gaganyaan programme is currently underway... We have added BAS to the goals of Gaganyaan," Somanath said. "Previously, we had only one mission. Now, we have added five missions including the launch of BAS and docking with astronauts. We have expanded the scope."

The government has approved additional funding of ₹11,170 crore for the space programme, enhancing the total funding for Gaganyaan to ₹20,193 crore.

Chandrayaan-4, scheduled to take off after three years, is estimated to cost ₹2,104 crore, Vaishnaw said.

The cabinet has also approved ₹1,236 crore for the Venus Orbiter Mission, or VOM, he said. Out of the total, ₹824 crore will be spent on the spacecraft that is scheduled to be launched in March 2028. In this mission, the surface and atmosphere of Venus will be studied, the minister said.

The next generation launch vehicle will have three times the present payload capability with 1.5 times the cost compared to LVM3, and will also have reusability resulting in low-cost access to space and modular green propulsion systems.

"What we can do with the current rocket is what we have proposed on this part of the programme," Somanath said. "When the NGLV comes up later, the remaining part of the space station will be done. The timeline has been accordingly worked out. The first unit will go in 2028. The remaining process will be done by 2035."