India to mark second National Space Day on August 23, focus on human spaceflight

India will observe its second National Space Day on Saturday, marking the country’s progress from satellite launches to human spaceflight.

In a post on X, Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, said: “Tomorrow, we celebrate the 2nd National Space Day, honouring India’s journey from satellites to human spaceflight.”

The government opened the space sector to private players in 2020 by creating the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe). Since then, more than 300 start-ups have registered, officials said.

IN-SPACe has supported two sub-orbital test flights by Indian start-ups and enabled the launch of 14 satellites by six non-government entities.

ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said the first uncrewed mission under the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme is scheduled for December and will carry Vyommitra, a half-humanoid robot. He also noted that IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla recently completed a mission to the International Space Station, the first by an Indian astronaut. Shukla is part of the crew shortlisted for Gaganyaan.

Further, Narayanan said that the joint NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite launched earlier this year was operating normally.