ISRO's Strategic Pivot: Quitting the Factory Floor to Chase Gaganyaan, Venus, and a 2035 Space Station

India's space agency is making the boldest bet in its history: ISRO plans to completely exit launch vehicle manufacturing, handing the factory floor to private companies and PSUs so it can concentrate solely on next-generation R&D, deep-space science, and human spaceflight. The question is whether it can execute the most ambitious Indian space roadmap yet — Gaganyaan, a space station, a Venus mission — while its commercial launch costs sit at $13,302 per kilogram, nearly...