UPSC Mains 2019 GS Paper 3 Q6: model answer
What is India's plan to have its own space station and how will it benefit our space programme?
What the question wants
Explain India's plan for its own space station and how it will help the space programme.
How to structure it
Plan, benefits, hurdles.
- The plan
- Benefits
- Hurdles
How to think it through
Announced 2019 by ISRO chief Sivan. Now Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS): five modules, first module BAS-01 targeted 2028, full station by 2035; ~52 tonnes; orbit ~400–450 km; follows Gaganyaan. Needs docking (SpaDeX Jan 2025 achieved), heavy lift (NGLV), life support. Benefits: microgravity research, long-duration human spaceflight, Moon landing goal 2040, commercial, diplomacy, ISS retiring ~2030.
Model answer
In January 2025, ISRO's SpaDeX mission joined two satellites together in orbit, making India the fourth country to master space docking. No space station can be built without that skill. The docking was a quiet first brick of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS).
The plan
- First announced in 2019 as a follow-on to Gaganyaan.
- Five modules, with the first module, BAS-01, targeted for 2028 and the full station by 2035.
- Orbit of roughly 400–450 km.
- A heavier rocket, the Next Generation Launch Vehicle, is being developed.
Benefits for the space programme
- Microgravity research in medicine, materials and biology.
- Long-duration human spaceflight, needed for an Indian on the Moon by 2040.
- Independence: the ISS is due to retire around 2030.
- Commercial use and space tourism for Indian startups.
- Diplomacy: hosting astronauts from partner countries.
- Spin-offs in materials, medicine and robotics for Indian industry.
Hurdles
- Cost, life support, regular crew and cargo flights.
- Gaganyaan must first fly crews safely, and the NGLV is still under development.
A station turns short visits to space into a permanent Indian address there.
Draw: A five-module station with a docked crew capsule.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Bharatiya Antariksh Station, BAS-01 2028, five modules by 2035, SpaDeX docking 2025, Gaganyaan, NGLV, microgravity, ISS retirement, Indian on Moon 2040.
Where most answers lose marks
- Using the 2019 plan without the 2025–26 updates.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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