India to have its own space station by 2035: ISRO Chief

India is working towards establishing its own space station, the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS), by 2035, ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said on Sunday. He also confirmed that the first module of the proposed space station has already received approval.

Addressing the third National Space Day celebrations in Ahmedabad, Narayanan highlighted India’s growing capabilities in space technology and said space-based applications are now being used in more than 50 areas that directly benefit citizens.

He said India’s space programme, which began 64 years ago, has expanded significantly and now supports Earth observation, remote sensing, telecommunications, television broadcasting, tele-education, disaster warning and mitigation, navigation, and real-time monitoring and tracking.

Narayanan also outlined some of India’s major upcoming space missions, including the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme and the development of the Bharatiya Antariksha Station.

“Many programmes are in the pipeline,” Narayanan said, adding that India is working towards establishing its own space station. “The first module has already been approved, and we aim to establish the space station by 2035,” he said.

The remarks came during the celebrations of India’s achievements in space exploration and the third National Space Day.

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who also addressed the event, recalled the historic achievement of Chandrayaan-3, which successfully landed near the Moon’s south polar region in 2023. The landing site was named Shiv Shakti Point, marking India’s historic achievement of reaching the lunar south polar region.