India plans to launch astronauts for the first time no sooner than 2026, roughly a year past the previously known timeline, following a series of uncrewed flight tests slated to begin in December.
Speaking at an invited talk in New Delhi last week, S. Somanath, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), attributed the delay to extreme caution being taken to ensure the crew's safety as well as challenges in developing homegrown technology for the mission.
