India's space odyssey begins anew with ambitious plans for the future

India’s space sector is poised for a takeoff over the next decade, with plans that include manned space missions, the launch of a space station, a mission to Venus, and an Indian landing on the Moon by 2040.  With government investments of ₹1.5 trillion expected by 2035, the size of the Indian space economy is expected to grow significantly from its current $8 billion.    Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others of the commercial Axiom-4 mission on Monday embarked on a journey back to Earth as their Dragon Grace spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station — their home for the last 18 days.  The Dragon spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 4:45 pm IST, a 10-minute delay from the original plan, and fired thrusters twice to move away from the orbital laboratory.