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NEW DELHI: Isro plans to carry out the first tests of the proposed Bharatiya Antariksha Station (Indian space station) next year and “talks are on with the industry to manufacture, test and launch its first module by 2028”, the space agency’s chief S Somanath said on Thursday.
On the sidelines of the India International Science Festival in Faridabad, Somanath told reporters, “It (space station tests) will happen next year.On Tuesday, I reviewed the Bharatiya Antariksha Station architecture. Our people are working on so many options. Which one to choose, I am really having mixed feelings now.”
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set Isro a target to launch the Bharatiya Antariksha Station by 2035 and land an Indian astronaut on the Moon by 2040.
The Isro chief said the PM’s announcement has really created an enthusiasm in the agency and Isro has begun discussing the project with industry partners. “It is a space station, not a person. The person will come whenever they are there. It will still work if there is nobody there,” Somanath said, indicating that initially the station will remain unmanned.
He said the agency also plans to launch a mission to Venus in 2028. “Venus mission has already been proposed once, we are looking at how to bring down the costs. There are some high-value items we want to bring down the cost,” Somanath said. He said Isro was also working on developing a new rocket to launch heavier payloads. The Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) is being developed as the country is now pursuing missions to send humans to the Moon.
The Antariksha Station is likely to weigh around 20 tonnes and maintain an orbit of approximately 400 km above the Earth, where astronauts could stay for 15-20 days. The station will have a crew command module, habitat module, propulsion module and docking ports.
Originally planned to be completed by 2030, it was later postponed to 2035 due to delays caused by technical issues related with the Gaganyaan crewed spaceflight mission and the Covid-19 pandemic. The first module is expected to be launched in 2028 on an LVM3 launch vehicle, with the remaining modules to be launched by 2035 on NGLV.
On the sidelines of the India International Science Festival in Faridabad, Somanath told reporters, “It (space station tests) will happen next year.On Tuesday, I reviewed the Bharatiya Antariksha Station architecture. Our people are working on so many options. Which one to choose, I am really having mixed feelings now.”
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set Isro a target to launch the Bharatiya Antariksha Station by 2035 and land an Indian astronaut on the Moon by 2040.
The Isro chief said the PM’s announcement has really created an enthusiasm in the agency and Isro has begun discussing the project with industry partners. “It is a space station, not a person. The person will come whenever they are there. It will still work if there is nobody there,” Somanath said, indicating that initially the station will remain unmanned.
He said the agency also plans to launch a mission to Venus in 2028. “Venus mission has already been proposed once, we are looking at how to bring down the costs. There are some high-value items we want to bring down the cost,” Somanath said. He said Isro was also working on developing a new rocket to launch heavier payloads. The Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) is being developed as the country is now pursuing missions to send humans to the Moon.
The Antariksha Station is likely to weigh around 20 tonnes and maintain an orbit of approximately 400 km above the Earth, where astronauts could stay for 15-20 days. The station will have a crew command module, habitat module, propulsion module and docking ports.
Originally planned to be completed by 2030, it was later postponed to 2035 due to delays caused by technical issues related with the Gaganyaan crewed spaceflight mission and the Covid-19 pandemic. The first module is expected to be launched in 2028 on an LVM3 launch vehicle, with the remaining modules to be launched by 2035 on NGLV.
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