[FPSPACE] If it gets budgeted, India will get first manned space mission in 2016

[Peter Pesavento]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7091804/India-plans-first-manned-
space-flight-in-2016.html

 

>From the UK Telegraph

 

It also looks like India is planning to put a rover on the Moon as
well—perhaps next year

 


India plans first manned space flight in 2016 


India's space agency is planning the nation's first manned space flight for
2016, if it gets government approval of the project budget, an official said
Thursday. 


By Muneeza Naqvi, for AP in New Dehli
Published: 11:34AM GMT 28 Jan 2010

 

The Indian space research organisation has sought 120 billion rupees (£1.6
billion) to put two astronauts in space for a week, spokesman S Satish said.


The government has already provided a pre-project fund of about four billion
rupees (£53 million) allowing the agency to do some initial research on the
space flight, he said, adding that ISRO is "hopeful" of getting the entire
project approved soon so it can start making full-scale preparations. 

In October 2008, India launched Chandrayaan-1, its first satellite orbiting
the moon, but had to abandon it nearly a year later after communication
links snapped and scientists lost control of the satellite. 

Chandrayaan-1 put India in an elite club of countries with moon missions.
Similar satellites have been launched by the United States, Russia, the
European Space Agency, Japan and China. 

As India's economy has boomed in recent years, it has sought to convert its
new found wealth — built on its high-tech sector — into political and
military clout and stake a claim as a world leader. 

India's neighbor and rival China has been forging ahead in space and in 2003
became the first Asian country to put its own astronauts into space. It
followed that in 2008 with its first spacewalk. 

India plans to follow the Chandrayaan, which means "moon craft" in Sanskrit,
by landing a rover on the moon in 2011. 

India began its space program in the 1960s and since 1975 has launched more
than 50 remote sensing and communication satellites of its own and 22 for
other nations, Satish said. 

 

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