Pariksha SaathiPIB backgrounder on India's new-age space technologies: SpaDeX made India the fourth country to demonstrate space docking; NGLV designed for up to 30 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit
A PIB backgrounder of 28 October 2026, 'India's New-Age Space Technologies: The Road to Self-Reliance', traces India's space journey from its first sounding rocket, launched from Thumba, Kerala, on 21 November 1963, towards the planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station. India's organised space activities began in 1962 with the establishment of the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) under the vision of Dr Vikram A. Sarabhai; ISRO was formed on 15 August 1969, superseding INCOSPAR, and was brought under the Department of Space in 1972. The Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2024 with an outlay of Rs 8,240 crore covering development costs, three developmental flights, essential facilities, programme management and the launch campaign, is designed for a maximum capacity of 30 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), triple the 10-tonne LEO limit of the LVM3; a partially reusable NGLV variant with a 14-tonne LEO payload capability is also being developed. ISRO completed three landing experiments of its winged Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) technology demonstrator, Pushpak, on 2 April 2023, 22 March 2024 and 23 June 2024, and India flight-tested its scramjet on 28 August 2016, reaching Mach 6. On 27 March 2025 ISRO completed a 1,000-hour life test of its indigenous 300 mN stationary plasma thruster, which it plans to validate aboard its Technology Demonstration Satellite (TDS-01). ISRO's SpaDeX mission first docked its two satellites on 16 January 2025, completed a second docking with full autonomy from an inter-satellite distance of 15 m on 20 April 2025 and demonstrated bidirectional power transfer between the docked satellites on 21 April 2025; the backgrounder says India thereby became the fourth country to demonstrate space docking, after the United States, Russia and China. The backgrounder also describes NavIC, India's independent regional satellite navigation system, which provides positioning, navigation and timing services across India and up to 1,500 km beyond the Indian mainland; CMS-03 (GSAT-7R), a dedicated communication satellite for the Indian Navy launched on 2 November 2025; and the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, launched on 30 July 2025 aboard GSLV-F16 from Sriharikota, the first satellite mission to use two radar frequencies together (NASA's L-band and ISRO's S-band). According to the Department of Space, India's space economy is targeted to reach US$44 billion by 2033; NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) has signed 118 Technology Transfer Agreements to transfer 83 ISRO-developed technologies to Indian industry, and cumulative investment in Indian space start-ups reached approximately US$618.5 million as of 31 March 2026.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
When the Union Cabinet approved the development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) on 18 September 2024, the Government described it as a significant step towards establishing and operating the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and towards developing capability for an Indian crewed landing on the Moon by 2040. NGLV was to have 3 times the then present payload capability at 1.5 times the cost compared to LVM3, along with reusability, resulting in low-cost access to space, and modular green propulsion systems; it was designed for a maximum payload capability of 30 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit, with a reusable first stage. At that time India had achieved self-reliance in space transportation systems to launch satellites of up to 10 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit and 4 tonnes to Geo-Synchronous Transfer Orbit through the operational PSLV, GSLV, LVM3 and SSLV launch vehicles. The project was to be implemented with maximal participation from Indian industry, and NGLV was to be demonstrated through three development flights (D1, D2 and D3), with a target of 96 months (8 years) for completing the development phase.
Reference: PIB (Cabinet), 'New Re-usable Low-cost launch vehicle for Bharat', 18 September 2024
Check yourself: by when did the Government aim to develop capability for an Indian crewed landing on the Moon, as stated when the NGLV was approved, and how long was targeted for completing the NGLV's development phase?
By 2040; 96 months (8 years), with three development flights (D1, D2 and D3).
Revision task: from this release, note when and from where India's first sounding rocket was launched, when INCOSPAR and ISRO were set up, the NGLV's outlay and payload, the dates of the Pushpak landing experiments, the SpaDeX docking dates and the countries that demonstrated docking before India, NavIC's coverage, NISAR's launch and radar bands, and the space economy target; from the note, the NGLV's payload and cost compared with LVM3, its development flights and timeline, and the year by which the Government aimed to develop capability for an Indian crewed Moon landing.
Test yourself
According to PIB's backgrounder of 28 October 2026 on India's new-age space technologies, through which ISRO mission did India become the fourth country to demonstrate space docking?
Show the answer
Answer: SpaDeX
ISRO's SpaDeX mission first docked its two satellites on 16 January 2025 and subsequently demonstrated undocking; a second docking with full autonomy from an inter-satellite distance of 15 m followed on 20 April 2025, and bidirectional power transfer between the docked satellites was demonstrated on 21 April 2025. The backgrounder says India thereby became the fourth country to demonstrate space docking, after the United States, Russia and China. Pushpak is ISRO's winged Reusable Launch Vehicle technology demonstrator, NISAR is the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission, and Gaganyaan is advancing India's human spaceflight goals.
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