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ISRO still moons for moon, says panel discussing issue
LUCKNOW, JANUARY 7:
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Kasturirangan
today did not agree with the view that the ‘man on moon’ mission
should be outrightly rejected, saying ‘‘though we have developed
enormous capabilities in space technology, yet all aspects
should be looked into before embarking upon such an ambitious
mission’’.
A national coordination committee
to discuss the issue threadbare is looking into the mission
and priority of resources was certainly uppermost besides
the national commitment for such a programme, Kasturirangan
told reporters here.
When a reporter sought to know
what benefit a common man would derive with such a programme,
the ISRO chief said: ‘‘Certainly, a pragmatic view has to
be taken before deciding this.’’
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Insat-3C
on Jan 22
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| LUCKNOW: The Insat-3C satellite
will be launched from Kourou, French Guyana, on January
22, ISRO chairman K. Kasturirangan said on Monday. The
launch was put off last month after the failure of launch
vehicle Ariane-5. It will now fly by an Ariane-4 rocket.
Insat-3C carries 24 C-band transponders and mobile satellite
service transponders. (Agencies) |
At the same time, Kasturirangan
pointed out that when electricity was invented, no one knew
its benefits and the same applies in case of space programmes
— whether it is the launch of a satellite in orbit or sending
a man to moon. ‘‘The pros and cons and the whole gamut of
complexities would be looked into before embarking upon such
an ambitious space mission and a final decision in this regard
would be taken when the coordination committee submits its
report,’’ Kasturirangan said.
He also announced that the
Department of Space would soon undertake a five-year programme
on natural resource census for the entire country and Uttar
Pradesh’s remote sensing application centre (RSAC) would play
a dominant role in this.
A national virtual data network
of such resources will also be developed by the department,
the ISRO chief said. (PTI)
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