BENGALURU: The first satellite launch for the Gaganyaan mission, the G-1 (half-humanoid) mission is all ready to take off in the next 3-4 months.“The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) got clearances for G-1 from the National Review Committee in early May, 2026. The half-huanoid- G-1- mission is expected to launch in the coming 3-4 months, against the previous claims made,” sources in ISRO told TNIE.
Ideally campaign activities for any mission start 60 days before the launch date of the satellite. In case of the Gaganyaan, the campaign will start 90 days ahead of the scheduled mission. This is because Gaganyaan is a complex human-rated mission and everything is being built with latest state of the act technology indigenously. Three unmanned missions (G-1, G-2 and G-3) are slated before the first humanoid mission.
“However, in case of the G-1 mission the launch activities were announced in December 2024, targeting a launch in March 2025. But then none of the systems were ready. This hasty announcement misguided the Ministry of Space, the country and the international space fraternity. It also put the entire operation at risk,” an official said.
Sources explained, when the internal independent committee reviewed the works in January-February 2025, they found that no systems were ready and they decided that the launch activities cannot take place. The developmental activities were accelerated only from March 2025. In January 2025, no national or expert committee review and certification was obtained for the G-1 mission.
Four step errors were noted- launch activity, launch target, review not up to the mark and activity acceleration. Two months were further wasted in understanding what is required to be done on ground. Top in this list included new version systems for S-200, L-110 and C-32 stages.
This is apart from the latest aerodynamics system, parachute system, thermal protection, pyro-systems, propulsion, avionics, software, structural design and qualification, recovery system, life support and launch vehicle.
ISRO said new reliable robust designs and sub-systems have been used. Third party inspection was done before presenting the final file to the national review committee.
Another official said, “Protocols were not followed back then. The mismatch in the system could have had a cascading effect on India’s international space relations. Now since the last one year things have geared up and final simulation testings are being done in Bengaluru and Trivandrum.”
