India plans 'very small' space station after 2022
46
India plans to establish its own “very small” space station in the next decade as the country gears up for a first manned mission beyond earth.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K. Sivan said on Thursday that the ambitious project would follow a successful launch of a manned space flight scheduled by 2022.
“Our space station is going to be very small... useful to carry out experiments,” Sivan told reporters in New Delhi.
“We are not having a big plan of sending humans on tourism and other things,” he added.
A space station is capable of hosting crew members for years on end, and provides facilities for experiments and support vehicles to dock.
India's first manned space mission — named Gaganyaan — is due to take place by 2022, in time to commemorate 75 of years of the country's independence from Britain.
It will have two or three astronauts on a maximum seven-day mission.
The Indian announcement comes a day after the country unveiled an unmanned moon lander expected to be launched on July 15 for a touchdown on the lunar surface around Sept 6.
India successfully sent a first lunar mission to space in 2008, playing a crucial role in the discovery of water molecules on the moon.
The country has made giant strides on its space journey in recent years and has been a pioneer in low-cost technology.
It sent a mission to Mars in 2014 for just $74 million — a fraction of the $671 million spent by the United States space agency Nasa.
ISRO also plans to send a mission to study the Sun in 2020, and to Venus by 2023.
Read more
On DawnNews
Comments (46) Closed
Jun 13, 2019 08:28pm
Wow, ISRO is really giving wings to dreams of small budget innovation. Way to go.
Come July 15 they will be snooping around moon surface.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 08:39pm
Thanks Dawn for publishing this. Hope pakistan also invests in scientific discoveries. All the best.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 08:56pm
First clear your streets.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 08:57pm
So small that you can.t see it
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 09:15pm
Writing 'very small' shows the narrow mentality. Chalo, at least you published this story.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 09:18pm
Bravo india. I hope pakistan also invests into technological advancemeny
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 09:21pm
Maybe one day there can be a joint Indo-Pakistani space mission.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 09:21pm
I like competition from Pakistan in scientific, medical or other advanced technology.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 09:33pm
Great work by ISRO. Space technology is the future and fortunately India has one of the top 5 space programs in the world at this time.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 09:46pm
Some don't want to accept fact that , India is far far ahead in all major fields and is a global player in those.
Space ,science and technology are just two of them.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 09:52pm
All big journeys begin with a single small step !!!!!
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 10:02pm
Fingers crossed for ISRO's Chandrayaan2 mission on july 14,2019.All the best ISRO go make us proud as you always do.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 10:04pm
Does India intends to send minorities there? What India is going to achieve there when majority of its population doesn't have the minimum bare necessities of lives?
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 10:24pm
@Indian scientist, After we pay our crushing debt.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 10:44pm
Please take care of your people on the earth first, then think of luxuries like space travel. Make sure they have enough and toilets.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 11:01pm
Great going Isro. Good luck
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 11:01pm
India is a world leader in innovation and development. All the worlds leading companies have Indians at the top.
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 11:09pm
All the best to ISRO...
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 11:15pm
Congrats India, wishing you all the best, though nothing will last as long as two brother don't join hands together as Children of Sindhu Dharti and Tamil Dharti from which we all come and they are our roots.
IndoPakBangla Blood Brothers 4 Life!
Recommend
0
Jun 13, 2019 11:33pm
Pakistan can try and ignore the recent advance by India.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 12:09am
Here we go again, more Indian news being fed. Does anyone care?
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 12:33am
India roaring to blast away to glory. Catch me if you can.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 12:37am
@Indian scientist, are you out of your wits?
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 12:41am
Glorious past and future. Indis readying to take back its rightful place. With modi in the driver's seat, anything is possible. He has made it possible for India to think and achieve big. Congress vision was be poor,love poverty. No more.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 12:49am
Congratulations and I wish Pakistani scientists to think big like this.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 02:03am
Indian space program always tries to accomplish the maximum return from minimum investments.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 02:14am
Water molecules ? It should be water.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 02:15am
Just to put things in their proper context - "small" here still means approximately 20 tons (metric), as stated by ISRO Chairman K. Sivan.
The most powerful current rocket of ISRO, the GSLV Mk3, can only lift 8 tons to Low Earth Orbit, so it will presumably require another country to lift the space station. Either that, or IRSO hopes to have a sufficiently powerful rocket by that time.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 02:22am
Well done India. I hope we(Pakistan) will also someday materialize such initiative
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 03:27am
India's ISRO invest frugally and get the most value out of investment along with inspiring millions of young generation to science and make billion Indian proud of its achievement. Its may be a small step but huge initiative in right direction and will earn them huge respect through out world.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 03:48am
Great strides by India. Keep it up!
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 05:24am
Another milestone. Well done ISRO. u re making entire Asia proud.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 06:37am
For sure India has managed and done certain things better than Pakistan..we both gained independence together but there is very little that we (Pakistan) have achieved in areas of science and technology on our own while India has made significant strides and is trying to compete with the Big 3 or 4 like US, Russia, China and France. The main issue is that instead of acknowledging their development, most of the times our people will downplay it and make denial statements that they have copied technology etc. but that doesn’t seem to be the case....and even if they have done that, what was stopping us? Why we are lagging so far behind? Even china is accused of copying...but look where they stand. I personally do believe that various Indian governments invested in scientific research and education and they have really achieved most of it on their own.... We must appreciate this and try to learn from it.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 06:56am
India plans “very small” space station. No need to stress how small it is. ISRO is doing its best with what it gets from govt. It's rockets have limited palyod capaciy. By using its limited resources to optimum level it achieved notable feets in today's comperitive world. It is planning a 20 tons. The much needed feet is to achieve 5 tons launch palyod capacity. I wish the gaganyan and chandrayan-2 success.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 07:55am
We should appreciate what is happening in the neighborhood and try to learn and emulate the same rather than downplaying it...India has certainly done well in space research.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 08:19am
Pakistan will certainly do good in space research one day. It's all about mindset. 5 year ago Pakistani people was not able to digest ISRO Spending and used to talk about poverty instead. Now they appreciate ISRO. Now they understand value of space research batter
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 08:31am
Where are the ppl who will give us knowledge abt poverty n hunger.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 09:24am
@Sharjeel lasharie, not only in space research but also in the field of Infrastructure, Education, Health, Tourism, IT, Retail, Telecom, Automobile etc.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 10:38am
Basically one Satellite Launch Station is needed everything else will follow.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 01:35pm
@Baba Vickram Aditya Bedi, It can never happen. If SA, UAE with their money could not do it, how come pakistan can do it
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 01:50pm
@Rehmatullah,
Or send small modules one by one with 8 tonne rocket and assemble them in space !!!
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 04:00pm
Small it's very modern like small cars,houses, phone.Its an age of compactness and small.Dont use too much space of the space.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 04:10pm
@Rashid, You certainly cared enough to comment about it!
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 05:21pm
@Rehmatullah, space stations are built not in a single blast of rocket. Many launches eventually will make it by joining modules and capsules with docking.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 07:05pm
@Rehmatullah, Space stations are build not in a single blast of rocket. They send components in many lift offs and all those payloads will be assembled in the space to build it. several space capsules or modules are docked or assembled in robotic to achieve this. No single rocket can lift off entire space station even Ariane 5, space X falcon or long march or any other heavy rocket can not lift off entire space station. The ISRO may be planning to built its small space station with several launches of GSLV rockets. The assembly of the International Space Station began 20 Years back and required more than 36 shuttles to shape it what it is in present day.
Recommend
0
Jun 14, 2019 08:20pm
@Rehmatullah, Modules of space station can be send separately and than joined together later. Isro has plans for new series of space vehicles with lifting capacity upto 41tons in LEO.
Recommend
0
