Bharatiya Antariksh Station to have two robotic arms

India’s planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) is being designed with robotic capabilities that could help astronauts handle operations outside the station, inspect its structure and support future expansion.
New technical details presented by K Kalpana, BAS Project Director at ISRO, during the Space Science and Technologies session of ESTIC 2026 in New Delhi on October 29, point to a station equipped with internal and external robotic arms, alongside free-flying systems and humanoid robots.
The presentation also outlines a five-module station in low Earth orbit, with provisions for docking across all modules.
The station is planned to support long-duration human stays and microgravity research, marking a major step in India’s ambition to build an independent human spaceflight infrastructure.
According to the presentation, the station will comprise five modules, orbiting Earth at an altitude of around 450 km and an inclination of 51.5 degrees. Its overall mass is estimated at approximately 54 tonnes, with dimensions of about 27 metres by 20 metres.
The station is expected to accommodate three to four crew members for continuous stays, with space for around three additional astronauts during short-duration missions.
The station’s planned robotic systems are intended to expand its operational capabilities. The presentation lists internal and external robotic arms, free-flying systems and humanoid robots among the planned features. However, it does not specify the exact configuration or operational roles of each arm.
Other features include docking provisions across all modules, regenerative environmental control and life-support systems, and protection against radiation, extreme temperatures and micrometeoroids and orbital debris.
The station is also expected to provide a platform for microgravity experiments, potentially supporting research in areas such as life sciences, pharmaceuticals, materials science and advanced manufacturing. These are among the research priorities identified for the BAS programme by the government.