BANGALORE, Sept 12:
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which took nearly 35 years to complete a century of space missions with the launch of PSLV C21 on Sunday, is capable of completing the second 100 within next 10 years, a top official today said.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the World Space-Biz 2012, an International Conference on Space Business which began here today, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said ISRO expects to launch 60 missions over the next five years. This included both launch vehicles and satellites, he said, adding ISRO had to potential to complete 200 missions in next 10 years.
‘We are planning about 10 to 12 missions a year,’ he said.
Explaining how ISRO achieved the first 100 space missions, he said while the first 20 took 13 years, the next 20 took 11 years. The latest two phases of 20 missions each took six years and four years, respectively.
With heavy demand for transponders of communication satellites and space missions becoming a lucrative business for the private industry, the ISRO chief called upon the industry to help ISRO create a space industry model for India in the lines of NASA or EADS of Europe.
‘There are 20 big companies in EADS consortium and in the US, NASA has a large number of industries connected to space technology working with it. This has led them to achieve big time success.
We can also achieve this with active participation of the industry, at least to a smaller extent,’ Dr Radha Krishnan said earlier, in his inaugural speech.
There has to be vertical integration of the ISRO and the private industry, he stressed.
Dr Radhakrishnan said in the next two years, ISRO had planned to forge collaboration with the industry on a ‘mission mode’ and create a model for India on the lines of NASA.
‘Now we have to take it forward to next level of action. In the next two years we need to work out arrangements. On the launch vehicle side we have to see how to enhance the participation of Indian industry in realising the PSLV launch vehicle.
‘In the same way, in the communication satellite building, we want to see an enhanced participation by the industry. We have to work out the mechanism. By 2014, we want to see a big change,’ he said.
He said both launch vehicle and satellites are priorities in joint development of technology and ISRO want the industry to constantly push in evolving better technologies based on the ISRO research. (UNI)
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