India’s Space Push Enters a High-Stakes Year
Human spaceflight tests, private rocket launches and industrial firsts line up as Isro and startups move from ambition to execution.
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India’s space program is set for a decisive year in 2026, with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and private companies lining up a mix of human spaceflight tests, strategic satellite missions, commercial launches, and industrial firsts that together will shape the country’s ambitions in space for the coming decade.
Isro has lined up seven launch missions by March 2026, including a critical uncrewed test flight under the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program, commercial and Earth observation missions, and the expected flight of India’s first fully industry-manufactured Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), according to a Department of Space parliamentary reply issued in December.
The first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission is expected to carry Vyommitra, the humanoid robot designed to validate crew systems ahead of India’s first human spaceflight. Isro has said uncrewed missions are a prerequisite before astronauts are sent to orbit.
Alongside human spaceflight, Isro’s 2026 manifest includes Oceansat-3A (also referred to as EOS-10), a meteorology and ocean observation satellite equipped with instruments such as the Ocean Color Monitor, Scatterometer and Sea Surface Temperature Monitor.
The satellite is intended to work in tandem with Oceansat-3 (EOS-06) to provide near-daily data for weather forecasting, fisheries and climate monitoring.
Strategic payloads are also scheduled. EOS-N1, expected to fly aboard a PSLV with multiple co-passenger satellites, will support national security and civilian applications.
A central milestone in 2026 will be the first launch of a PSLV manufactured entirely by Indian industry, under a production contract led by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Larsen and Toubro (L&T).
The Department of Space has said this mission marks a shift toward industrializing launch vehicle production, with NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) acting as the commercial arm.
While Isro sets the pace for 2026, India’s private launch firms face a year of execution.
Skyroot Aerospace is preparing for the first orbital flight of Vikram-I, while Agnikul Technologies is targeting further missions with its Agnibaan rocket after suborbital tests.
GalaxEye plans to deploy its multi-sensor Drishti satellite, and Dhruva Space’s LEAP-2 satellite is slated to fly aboard a PSLV. The government is targeting 50 launches over five years.
Rapidly expanding space economy
The launch momentum is underpinned by a rapidly expanding commercial base. India’s space economy has been valued at about $9 billion in recent years, and government projections place it at $44 billion by 2033, driven largely by private participation.
India’s share of the global space economy stands at about 2%, but policymakers expect it to rise to nearly 8% by 2033, backed by liberalized foreign direct investment rules and IN-SPACe’s single-window authorization framework.
Data released by the Indian Space Association (ISpA) showed private space startups in India raised nearly $150 million in FY25, taking cumulative funding beyond $617 million.
The industry body has said India now has more than 300 active space startups, with about 40% focused on satellite platforms and communications, 25% on launch vehicles and propulsion, and the remainder spanning Earth observation, electronics, space situational awareness and downstream analytics.
Despite the growth, policy gaps remain a central concern for 2026.
Sharing expectations for the year ahead, Lt. Gen. A K Bhatt (Retd.), Director General of ISpA, said the industry is awaiting long-pending legislative and regulatory clarity.
“Players in the spacetech ecosystem are awaiting the tabling of the Space Activities Bill in Parliament. They also await regulatory clarity on the satellite communications (satcom) spectrum and its pricing. This would help players like Eutelsat OneWeb, which already has ready infrastructure, to start their services as soon as possible.”
Bhatt warned that delays in spectrum policy impose opportunity costs on companies that have already invested in ground infrastructure.
Funding mechanisms are also expected to play a larger role in 2026. Last year saw the operationalization of the ₹1,000-crore IN-SPACe Venture Capital Fund, following agreements to structure and manage the fund. In parallel, the government approved a ₹1-trillion Research, Development and Innovation Scheme, aimed at providing long-term capital support for deep-tech sectors, including space.
IN-SPACe also launched a ₹500-crore Technology Adoption Fund in 2025. The fund provides grants covering up to 60% of project costs for startups and small businesses developing commercially viable early-stage space technologies. The program is designed to reduce import dependence and accelerate product readiness rather than act as a venture capital vehicle.
Policy reforms and measurable outcomes
Looking back at 2025, Bhatt said policy reforms had begun translating into measurable outcomes.
“Policy reforms led to tangible results across launches, satellite manufacturing, observation, space data, and communications.”
“In 2025, contracts were awarded and production lines were established. Satellites were deployed, launch vehicles moved closer to operational readiness, and data-driven services scaled across civilian, commercial, and strategic domains,” he added.
Public–private partnerships are now the dominant operating model across much of the space value chain, supported by the New Space Policy 2023, the liberalized FDI policy of 2024, and the Indian Telecommunications Act 2023, which together provide clearer rules for long-term investment.
For 2026, Bhatt said the focus will shift from capability building to consolidation and infrastructure.
“2026 will solidify India’s global stature through breakthroughs in quantum technologies via PSLV-N1 and Agnikul’s 3D printed engines. Pixxel’s hyperspectral constellations will also advance the sector. At the same time, we are working to bridge infrastructure needs like dedicated private launch pads.”
Earth observation as a commercial opportunity
He added that space is increasingly viewed as a strategic domain.
“The government now increasingly recognizes space as a critical operational domain for defense and strategic capabilities.”
Bhatt framed the challenge ahead as one of coordination rather than ambition.
“True leadership demands not just mission success but ecosystem orchestration. We must prioritize private launch infrastructure, AI-driven mission autonomy for real-time decision-making, and edge computing in satellites for low-latency data processing. Global satcom interoperability is also essential.”
Earth observation is emerging as one of the clearest commercial opportunities. In 2025, IN-SPACe’s Build–Own–Operate framework entered implementation, signaling a shift toward private development and operation of satellite infrastructure.
In August 2025, a Pixxel-led consortium, including Dhruva Space, PierSight and SatSure, won a ₹1,200-crore government contract to build and operate India’s first commercial Earth observation constellation, comprising 12 satellites. The project will be developed over five years and is intended to supply data to government and commercial users.
A turning point for geospatial technologies
Downstream applications are also expanding rapidly. Agendra Kumar, Managing Director of Esri India, the nation’s largest geographic information system (GIS) software provider, said 2025 marked a turning point for geospatial technologies.
“India’s geospatial journey experienced tremendous acceleration last year. GIS emerged as a core digital infrastructure. The rapid growth of the geospatial analytics market shows that spatial intelligence is now embedded in governance, infrastructure development, climate action, and business decisions.”
“GIS, AI, drone and satellite imagery, GeoAI, IoT, and big data are converging to enable faster, more precise, and proactive outcomes,” he added.
Looking ahead, Kumar said: “Living digital twins will accelerate this transformation. These twins provide connected, real-time views of physical assets.”
“GIS is no longer limited to mapping. It is becoming a mainstream platform that connects data, systems, and people.”
For downstream firms, the shift from capability to application is already visible. Amit Kumar, Co-Founder and COO of Suhora Technologies, said 2025 was a watershed year.
“Last year was a defining year for India’s downstream space ecosystem,” he said, adding, “as launch capacity improves and satellite constellations grow, real value creation is shifting closer to applications, analytics, and decision-making.”
“Enterprises and governments are no longer asking if space data can help, but how quickly it can be operationalized,” he said, while adding, “This year’s opportunity is to translate India’s space capabilities into insights that solve real-world problems at scale.”
On the launch side, Isro’s heavy-lift ambitions are also advancing. The agency is working with industry to scale production of the LVM3 rocket for commercial missions, while the first fully indigenously manufactured PSLV, built by the HAL–L&T consortium, is expected to fly in early 2026, marking a major step toward industrial-scale launch capability.
