New Delhi, Aug 22: India is set to celebrate the second National Space Day on Saturday, honouring the country's journey from satellites to human spaceflight.

Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, said in an X post that on August 23, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India created history as the fourth nation to land on the Moon and the first at its South Pole — a moment that inspired the future.

“Tomorrow, we celebrate the 2nd National Space Day, honouring India’s journey from satellites to human spaceflight and our vision of infinite possibilities,” the minister added.

India’s space sector is set to play a major role in advancing the country’s technological and economic growth. With the landmark space reforms in 2020, the Government has liberalised the Indian space sector and constituted the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe).

Post the announcement of space sector reforms in 2020, the number of registered space start-ups has grown exponentially to over 300.

IN-SPACe has also facilitated two successful sub-orbital flights from Indian space start-ups in November 2022 and May 2024, respectively. In addition, six NGEs have launched fourteen satellites into orbit, demonstrating their capabilities.

The first uncrewed mission of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, G1, is ready to launch with the half-humanoid robot -- Vyommitra -- and the launch is expected in December, according to V. Narayanan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Speaking at a press briefing in the national capital on Friday, he lauded IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla for his successful mission to the International Space Station -- the first ever by an Indian. Shukla is one of the astronauts selected for the crewed Gaganyaan mission.

He added that the recently launched NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellite (NISAR) satellite "is healthy and all systems are working well”.

(IANS)

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