India's Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight Mission Reaches 90% Completion With 2027 Crewed Launch Target

ISRO successfully completed the first integrated air drop test for the Gaganyaan programme on August 24 (File)

The Gaganyaan mission has reached approximately 90 percent completion according to ISRO Chairman V Narayanan, who provided an update on Thursday regarding India's first human spaceflight program currently under development.

"The Gaganyaan mission is progressing exceptionally well," stated Narayanan while addressing reporters during promotional activities for the upcoming Emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC-2025), scheduled for November 3-5 in New Delhi.

Narayanan elaborated on the mission's requirements, explaining, "The Gaganyaan mission involves extensive technology development - including human-rated rocket systems, orbital module development, environmental control safety systems, crew escape mechanisms, parachute systems, and human-centric products."

The ISRO Chairman confirmed that approximately 90 percent of the development work has been successfully completed, representing significant progress toward mission readiness.

"We must accomplish three uncrewed missions before proceeding to the crewed mission stage. The first uncrewed mission will feature Vyommitra, and we are working diligently to accomplish the crewed mission by early 2027," Narayanan added.

A critical milestone was achieved on August 24, 2025, when ISRO completed the first integrated air drop test for the Gaganyaan programme at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

According to ISRO's official statement, this test successfully demonstrated end-to-end performance validation of the critical parachute-based deceleration system for the crew module in one of the typical mission scenarios.

Providing additional details about the test, Narayanan explained, "For the Gaganyaan programme's integrated air drop test, we needed to validate that nine parachutes would function synchronously for proper splashdown. We lifted a simulated module using a helicopter to approximately three kilometers above Earth, and successfully achieved splashdown using the nine-parachute system."