ON THEIR WAY: National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, former ISRO Chairman U.R. Rao and ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair arriving for the inauguration of ISITE in Bangalore on Monday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G. Madhavan Nair on Monday indicated that ISRO, which recently signed a commercial contract with the European firm EADS Astrium to build a communications satellite, was likely to get orders for two more satellites.

At the inauguration of the ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment (ISITE) here, Dr. Nair said the satellites to be built as part of the joint venture would pave the way for ISRO to grab a major share in the global market. However, challenges lay ahead in areas of planetary and lunar exploration and earth satellites to monitor the weather and the environment.

Dr. Nair said ISRO's hands were already full with domestic demands for communications and remote-sensing satellites, and the expectation from the global market would increase.

To be globally competitive, the organisation had to score on reliability, quality and timely delivery. "We cannot afford to make compromises on quality," he added.

Earlier, National Scientific Adviser M.K. Narayanan inaugurated the ISITE facility, a world-class assembly, integration and test complex, with all spacecraft integration and test facilities under one roof.

The 100-acre complex on the Outer Ring Road here is equipped with facilities for complete assembly and test sequence to enable rolling out of a flight-worthy spacecraft. The complex features a Comprehensive Assembly and Test Vacuum Chamber and a Compact Antenna Test Facility.

Mr. Narayanan said ISITE epitomised the excellence of the country's space programme, which had humble beginnings at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Centre. He said ISRO had helped the country become part of an exclusive group of space-faring nations.

The organisation's efforts in tele-education and telemedicine had helped connect the rural populace even as the launch of the country's heaviest and most powerful satellite, INSAT-4A, and the planned launch of INSAT-4C had added muscle to the nation's space research records.

Mr. Narayanan described the development of CARTOSAT with two cameras of 2.5-metre resolution as a landmark. CARTOSAT-2 satellite with cameras of one metre resolution would boost the country's capabilities even further, he said.

Former ISRO Chairman U.R. Rao traced the development of India's space programme.

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