Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) by ISRO: status and timeline

Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)

Give India a permanent crewed research outpost of its own after Gaganyaan, for microgravity science, medicine and practice for longer missions, including a crewed Moon landing by 2040.

ProtoStage 2 of 5

BAS-01 baseline design done and subsystem design under way; first module targeted for 2028 on LVM3.

Updated 30 Jul 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · BAS-01 base module launches on LVM3

Cabinet approves BAS-01 within an expanded Gaganyaan18 Sep 2024Complete.
SpaDeX: India's first docking in orbit16 Jan 2025Complete.
Full-size BAS-01 model shown on National Space Day22 Aug 2025Complete.
BAS-01 baseline design review complete (reported to Parliament)Jul 2026Complete.
BAS-01 base module launches on LVM3Target 2028Current milestone.
Five-module station completeTarget 2035Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Upcoming

2028BAS-01 base module launches on LVM3 (next)
2035Five-module station complete

Current obstacles

Gaganyaan must fly crews firstBAS needs a human-rated rocket and capsule. Gaganyaan's first uncrewed flight keeps slipping and no crew has flown on an Indian rocket yet.
More capable rockets still to comeBAS-01 flies on today's LVM3. Later modules are planned on stronger launchers (an upgraded LVM3 or the new NGLV) that have not flown yet.

Physics limits

Low orbits drag a station downAt 400 to 450 km thin air still slows a station, so it loses height and must be boosted regularly with thrusters, which needs steady fuel deliveries.
Radiation limits how long crews stayAbove most of the atmosphere, astronauts absorb far more radiation than on the ground. Shielding is heavy, so mission length is capped by dose limits.
Every kilo has to be launchedAir, water, food and spare parts must come up by rocket at thousands of dollars per kilo, so life support must recycle as much as possible.

How it works

3 parts

Modules

Built one launch at a time

Each module weighs about 10 tonnes, roughly one rocket's load. BAS-01 flies on LVM3; later modules are planned on stronger launchers still in development.

Docking

Home-grown docking and berthing

Modules and crew craft join using an Indian docking system, first proven in orbit by the two small SpaDeX satellites in January 2025.

Life support

Air, water and temperature

An Indian-built life-support system scrubs carbon dioxide, supplies oxygen and controls heat and humidity so a crew can live aboard for long stays.

Spec sheet

Spec	Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)
Modules	5^R (reported)
Total mass	About 52 t^R (reported)
BAS-01 module mass	About 10 t^R (reported)
BAS-01 size	3.8 m x 8 m^R (reported)
Orbit altitude	400 to 450 km^R (reported)
Orbit inclination	51.5 degrees^R (reported)
Crew	3 to 4^R (reported)
Gaganyaan budget incl. BAS-01	Rs 20,193 crore^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

4 updates

About ISRO

The team behind Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)

ISRO

Indian space agency, LVM3 launcher, Gaganyaan crewed mission

India's space agency, developing indigenous launch vehicles, satellites and deep-space probes. Founded 1969. Primary launcher is LVM3, capable of 8,000 kg to LEO or 4,000 kg to GTO.

ISRO operates LVM3, India's most powerful launcher, which has successfully deployed Chandrayaan-3 to the Moon and OneWeb satellite batches.
Gaganyaan (crewed program) targets uncrewed test G1 late 2026, crewed launch Q1 2027, sending 3 astronauts to 400 km for 7 days.
If successful, India will become only the fourth country to independently achieve human spaceflight, after Russia, USA, and China.

isro.gov.in (opens isro.gov.in)Company profile →

Founded: 196957 yrs
Headquarters: India
Status: Public
Valuation: public
Works in: SpaceflightLaunch
Coverage: 3 programs · 7 updateslatest 30 Jul 2026checked 10 Oct
Partners: European Space Agency (opens esa.int)NASA (opens nasa.gov)Government of India (opens gov.in)
People: Dr. V. Narayanan (opens isro.gov.in)Chairman

Spec

Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)

Modules

5^R (reported)

Total mass

About 52 t^R (reported)

BAS-01 module mass

About 10 t^R (reported)

BAS-01 size

3.8 m x 8 m^R (reported)

Orbit altitude

400 to 450 km^R (reported)

Orbit inclination

51.5 degrees^R (reported)

Crew

3 to 4^R (reported)

Gaganyaan budget incl. BAS-01

Rs 20,193 crore^R (reported)

Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)

Milestones

Most important updates

Upcoming

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Built one launch at a time

Home-grown docking and berthing

Air, water and temperature

Spec sheet

Update log

Thu 30 Jul

Fri 22 Aug 2025

Thu 16 Jan 2025

Wed 18 Sep 2024

About ISRO

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Built one launch at a time

Home-grown docking and berthing

Air, water and temperature

Spec sheet

Update log

Thu 30 Jul

Fri 22 Aug 2025

Thu 16 Jan 2025

Wed 18 Sep 2024

About ISRO