ISRO seeks fund for manned mission in space

Kolkata: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has proposed a funding of nearly Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre for India’s first manned mission in space to take off in the next five to six years, according to sources from ISRO.

While initial research work and trials for the project are already underway, the second phase of preparation the rating of vehicle reliability may have to wait for the approval of fresh funds by the Department of Space till the election of the new Government, an ISRO official said. The first manned mission by India to moon will take 10-12 years, he pointed out.

“The testing of the satellite recovery is already complete and the next step of rating the vehicle reliability will be complete in three years from zero date,” Mr A.S. Kirankumar, Deputy Director, Sensors Development Area, Space Application Centre, ISRO said here on Saturday. In addition to the Space Application Centre, where the project is currently underway, a new Astronaut Centre would also be built for the mission, he added.

ISRO has also lined up for next year the launch of five new satellites, Mr Kirankumar said. Among these, the Radar Imaging SAT (RISAT), at an investment of nearly Rs 600 crore would be the first in the country to give out terrain information even in cloudy weather conditions. “The satellite would use transparent wavelength helping it to provide images of terrains in all weathers including monsoons,” he said.

The OceanSAT 2 would provide information to fishermen on prospective fishing zones.

The other satellites lined up for launch next year are ResourceSAT 2 to forecast crop yield, CartoSAT to be used for high resolution mapping of contours and INSAT3D to determine vertical profile of temperature and humidity. Each of the satellites involves an investment of Rs 300-400 crore, Mr Kirankumar said.