HYDERABAD: ISRO is currently focused on the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, scheduled for launch in 2027, ISRO chairman V Narayanan said on Monday. He added that India’s satellite presence in space is set for a major expansion, with the existing 57 satellites expected to triple in the next three years.
Speaking at the 68th Annual Day of the Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET) in Hyderabad, he outlined India’s long-term space goals. India aims to establish its own space station by 2035, with the first module planned for launch in 2028. As part of ISRO’s expanding commercial footprint, a 6,000-kg communication satellite for the US will be launched in December on an Indian rocket.
He noted that India has launched 133 satellites since 1975 and developed six generations of launch vehicles, recalling ISRO’s rise from transporting rocket parts on bicycles and bullock carts to becoming a global leader in multiple space domains. Upcoming technologies, he said, would soon enable real-time monitoring of all trains, and deeper collaboration with Indian Railways would accelerate technology adoption.
Record training numbers
IRISET also released its annual report outlining major gains in training, technology upgrades and capacity-building.
Director General Sharad Kumar Srivastava said the institute trained a record 8,462 personnel between November 2024 and October this year through 310 courses, taking its cumulative training count to more than 1.20 lakh. Kavach, the Indian Railways’ Automatic Train Protection system, remained the flagship programme with 4,364 personnel trained.
He said the Centre of Excellence accelerated Kavach deployment through EI–Kavach interface testing, development of a universal braking algorithm, lab upgrades to Version 4.0, field trials, creation of a knowledge portal and MoUs for next-generation R&D and interoperability.
South Central Railway General Manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava stressed the need for multi-skilling to boost the reliability of signalling and telecom assets. Awards were presented to toppers, and IRISET released its technical magazine Gyandeep.