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Narayanan, who delivered the keynote address at the 68th Annual Day function of the Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET), also said the country’s space program will be at par with any other advanced nation in terms of launches, satellites and others by 2040.
“The launch date has not been decided yet. It will be next month. This is a communications satellite, we are planning to launch. A commercial base communications satellite which we are going to launch using our LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark – III), vehicle,” he told reporters at the spot. He clarified that this is not a cooperation mission, but an American satellite will be launched on a commercial basis.
According to him, ISRO is working on many programs under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Right now, 57 satellites are in orbit, and that number is expected to triple in three years.
Asked about upcoming projects, Narayanan said the PM has announced reforms in the space sector and five launch vehicles have been handed over to private industrial consortiums. “The first rocket is coming, we are going to launch it,” he said.
The ISRO chief said the space agency is also working on the Gaganyaan program (a project to send a three-day manned mission to a 400 km low Earth orbit with a crew of three and bring them back to Earth safely) and some important Earth observation satellites.
On other projects, he said, several projects have been approved by the Central government, such as Chandrayaan 4 and 5. Chandrayaan-4 is targeted for 2028. Chandrayaan-5 is a collaborative mission with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
He said, “Today, when you look at the country, there is a lot of demand for satellites in the field of earth observation, communication and navigation. We are working in this direction. Then, we are also working on building a space station.” The central government has approved the first module, he said.
According to the report, the country plans to launch the first module of its domestic space station BAS (Indian Space Station) by 2028.
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In his address, he said that ISRO is also working on sending an Indian astronaut to the Moon using Indian rockets and bringing him back safely by 2040 as directed by PM Modi.
On the new areas in which ISRO and Indian Railways can collaborate, Narayanan said they can work together to ensure the safety of passengers and enable communication and television signals.
“If I summarize the Indian space program that started with Chakra Yug, by 2040 we will be at par with any other space-bearing country in terms of launches, satellites, communications, applications or capabilities,” he said.
Chandrayaan-4 will attempt to bring back samples from the Moon – a capability currently demonstrated only by the US, Russia and China.
Also read: ISRO to triple spacecraft production, launch Chandrayaan-4 in 2028: Chairman