Bengaluru: December 2021 is India’s deadline for sending astronauts into space, as fixed by ISRO Chairman K Sivan on Friday, January 11.
Addressing the media, he said Rs 10,000 Crore of the Rs 30,000 Crore approved for ISRO had been allocated for the Chandrayaan 2 programme scheduled to be launched by mid-April.
Speaking on Gaganyaan, Sivan said that ISRO was particular about involving women in the programme but clarified that it depended on the selection process.“The project will be a landmark step for ISRO which will expand our activities. The initial training for Gaganyaan will be done in India and advanced training is likely to be in Russia. Women astronauts will be part of the team,” he said.
ISRO took up 17 missions in 2018, of which 7 were launch vehicle missions, 9 spacecraft missions and 1 demonstration mission.
“ISRO is planning to launch its smallest satellite launcher vehicle in July. It will require only 72 hours and cost only Rs 30 Crore with a payload of 500 kg and a requirement of six people to launch the vehicle,” Sivan said.
A science centre in Jammu & Kashmir and many incubation centres have been formed by ISRO, he said adding that a navigation system for fishermen had also been prepared. “After forming six incubation and research centres across the country, We will get the Indian students to ISRO instead of sending them to NASA,” he said.
