India has set 2035 as the year it wants a fully working and a very own Indian space station. The Bharatiya Antariksha Station, or BAS, has already cleared its first big hurdle: the Union Cabinet has approved the first module, BAS 01, and ISRO has moved from planning to actual design work.

ISRO Chairman and Department of Space Secretary Dr V Narayanan confirmed the timeline on 23 August 2026 at the third National Space Day celebrations in Ahmedabad, per ANI. "The first module has already been approved, and we aim to establish the space station by 2035," he said.

For India, this is bigger than an extension of Gaganyaan. A permanent orbital outpost would let Indian scientists run long duration experiments without leaning on the International Space Station. It would also put India among a small group of countries that operate their own space stations.

What the Cabinet has actually approved

The approval so far covers only the first module. A Press Information Bureau reply dated 20 November 2025 states that the Union Cabinet cleared the development and launch of BAS 01 in September 2024, as part of a revised scope of the Gaganyaan programme.

Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh spelled this out in a written reply to Parliament, cited by the same PIB communication: "In September 2024, Union Cabinet approved development and launch of first module of Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS 01) by 2028 as part of revision in scope of Gaganyaan Programme."

That approval comes with a number attached. The estimated cost for developing and launching BAS 01 is Rs 1,763 crore, spread over four years from 2025 to 2028, per PIB.

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Five modules, one station

BAS 01 is only the opening piece. A separate PIB response to a Parliament question confirms ISRO has already worked out an overall configuration for the full station: five modules in all.

Reporting on ISRO's roadmap to 2047, Gujarat Samachar cites ISRO sources describing the finished station as a low Earth orbit laboratory weighing about 52 tonnes and measuring roughly 30 metres by 25 metres, assembled in phases between 2028 and 2035.

The Week reports that BAS 01 is targeted for launch by December 2028, with the complete five-module station expected to be operational by 2035 if ISRO holds to its milestones. The Times of India notes that current government approvals still cover only the first module, even as the broader ISRO plan aims for a fully operational station by 2035.

Why a low Earth orbit station, and for what

News reports summarising ISRO and PIB briefings, including one from News Bharati, describe BAS as a low Earth orbit module expected to fly at an altitude of roughly 400 to 450 km, similar to modern space stations elsewhere. The idea is a permanent Indian platform for microgravity research, technology testing and human spaceflight experience, independent of any foreign station.

Building and running satellites and stations at that scale is not cheap, and India's cost advantage in space has come under scrutiny before. As TUI reported, a Cambridge study challenged India's cheap-launch image in India vs US Satellite Launch Cost, a debate that will matter as BAS moves from design to hardware. Homegrown components already fly on ISRO missions, as detailed in TUI's look at Made in India semiconductor chips used on Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1, a sign of the self-reliance push behind BAS too.

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Looking beyond India for help

ISRO is not going it entirely alone. In April 2026, a senior ISRO official told a Russian space forum that India wants to partner with Russia on building the Bharatiya Antariksha Station, according to the Times of India. The move signals ISRO wants to draw on Russia's decades of experience running long duration space stations rather than build every system from scratch.

Analysis from Open Magazine points out that the 2035 target itself is not new. What changed in 2024 was the Cabinet turning a long-term vision into a funded programme, with BAS 01 as the stepping stone after Gaganyaan's crewed missions.

Every module beyond BAS 01 still needs its own Cabinet clearance and budget. That means the road to 2035 will be marked by a string of future approvals, each one a fresh test of whether an Indian space station stays on schedule.

India’s Orbital Ambition Takes Shape

The journey towards an Indian space station is no longer just a distant ambition. With BAS 01 approved and development underway, the Bharatiya Antariksha Station marks a significant step in India’s human spaceflight programme. The 2035 goal remains challenging, requiring sustained funding, technological progress and international collaboration. Yet, if ISRO can deliver each module as planned, BAS could give India an independent platform for scientific research, technology development and long-duration human spaceflight. More than a station in orbit, it could become a symbol of India’s growing confidence as a spacefaring nation.