Preparations on to send man to space

NEW DELHI: Preparations are on to send a man to space in the next eight years though government has not yet sanctioned the prestigious project, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

"An Indian manned mission (to space) is under preparation. Government has not yet sanctioned the mission. But, plans are being made to send a man to space. That does not necessarily mean sending a man to moon," Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan said during Question Hour.

He said the project was estimated to cost Rs9,500 crore.

Replying to questions on successful commercial launches of satellites by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Chavan said the Indian space body proposed to launch 12 communication satellites during the 11th Plan period to provide replacements and additional capacity.

The ISRO, at present, had two firm contracts for launching satellites, he said.

Pointing out that at present 199 transponders were providing services through Indian communication satellites, he said plans were afoot to increase the capacity to 500 transponders.

Observing that the total income from the lease of INSAT transponders was estimated at Rs400 crore in 2007-08, Chavan said an annual revenue of Rs1000 crore was being targeted through commercial use of Indian satellite transponders by the end of the 11th Plan.

He said the PSLV, which recently successfully launched an Italian satellite, was a 'rugged and versatile' vehicle. "We had made a very competitive bid and earned a competitive rate of 29,000 US dollars per kilogramme".