The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Unmanned mission to moon is on track, says Madhavan Nair

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 17, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Unmanned mission to moon is on track, says Madhavan Nair

Staff Reporter

`Scientists are studying technologies needed for manned mission'

BANGALORE: Even as work on India's unmanned mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1, is on, space scientists are studying the technologies needed for a manned mission, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation G. Madhavan Nair has said.

Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Madhavan Nair said though India now has no plan for a manned mission, ISRO is studying the technology requirements for such a mission.

Asked if ISRO will go in for a manned mission for national pride, Mr. Nair said: "We have to debate this. Probably at a later stage, we will take a decision on that."

Mr. Nair, who is also the Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman of the Space Commission, said Chandrayaan-1 slated for 2007-08 is on track. He said the mission is instrumented payload which will go around the moon at an altitude of 100 km. The space agency has also taken up design of a huge antenna system (34 metres) with the Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India Ltd.

The design review of the antenna system has been cleared. Fabrication work will commence soon, he said.

The space agency has identified payloads from the U.K., Germany and Switzerland for use in the unmanned mission, Mr. Nair said.

Mr. Nair said ISRO has put on hold its plans to jointly develop and market two-tonne class communication satellites with Boeing Satellite Systems. The reason for this is the change in the business plans of Boeing.

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