<p>India on Thursday announced that it plans to have its own space station by 2030.</p>.<p>Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairman K Sivan said the space station would be an extension of the human space flight programme Gaganyaan, which is tentatively scheduled for launch in December 2021.</p>.<p>“We are planning to have a separate space station… it will be a very small module to carry out microgravity experiments,” Sivan told reporters here outlining the future plans for Isro.</p>.<p>Unlike the International Space Station (ISS) that weighs over 400 tonnes, the Indian outpost in space would be a modest 20-tonne unit capable of docking two Gaganyaan modules and a small facility to carry out experiments. “We do not have big plans like space tourism and all. It will be totally Indian and manned by Indians,” Sivan said.</p>.<p>The Indian Space Station will be placed in a low earth orbit of about 400 km and will be able to support crew members for about a fortnight. It is also seen as a precursor to India’s ambitious plans to colonise outer space.</p>.<p>For the present, Isro scientists are completely focused on the Chandrayaan-2 project that is set to be launched on July 15 and entails landing a rover on the lunar surface sometime in September.</p>.<p>After Chandrayaan-2, Isro’s energies will be focused on the first human space flight — Gaganyaan that aims at putting a crew of three astronauts in space for a week.</p>.<p>The selection of the astronauts — test pilots from the Indian Air Force — will be done in the next six months and they would undergo extensive training for the space flight in India as well as in a foreign country.</p>.<p>Before the Gaganyaan launch in December 2021, the Isro plans to undertake two unmanned missions — first in December 2020 and the next, six months later before sending humans in space.</p>.<p>The Isro also plans to launch the much-delayed Aditya Mission — a space craft to study the sun — in 2020 and an orbiter probe to Venus in 2023. The mission to Venus will have 16 Indian and seven international payloads, Sivan said.</p>.<p>Sivan added that in the future, the Isro was also keen to join the international community for a manned mission to moon and a possible landing on an asteroid.</p>
<p>India on Thursday announced that it plans to have its own space station by 2030.</p>.<p>Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairman K Sivan said the space station would be an extension of the human space flight programme Gaganyaan, which is tentatively scheduled for launch in December 2021.</p>.<p>“We are planning to have a separate space station… it will be a very small module to carry out microgravity experiments,” Sivan told reporters here outlining the future plans for Isro.</p>.<p>Unlike the International Space Station (ISS) that weighs over 400 tonnes, the Indian outpost in space would be a modest 20-tonne unit capable of docking two Gaganyaan modules and a small facility to carry out experiments. “We do not have big plans like space tourism and all. It will be totally Indian and manned by Indians,” Sivan said.</p>.<p>The Indian Space Station will be placed in a low earth orbit of about 400 km and will be able to support crew members for about a fortnight. It is also seen as a precursor to India’s ambitious plans to colonise outer space.</p>.<p>For the present, Isro scientists are completely focused on the Chandrayaan-2 project that is set to be launched on July 15 and entails landing a rover on the lunar surface sometime in September.</p>.<p>After Chandrayaan-2, Isro’s energies will be focused on the first human space flight — Gaganyaan that aims at putting a crew of three astronauts in space for a week.</p>.<p>The selection of the astronauts — test pilots from the Indian Air Force — will be done in the next six months and they would undergo extensive training for the space flight in India as well as in a foreign country.</p>.<p>Before the Gaganyaan launch in December 2021, the Isro plans to undertake two unmanned missions — first in December 2020 and the next, six months later before sending humans in space.</p>.<p>The Isro also plans to launch the much-delayed Aditya Mission — a space craft to study the sun — in 2020 and an orbiter probe to Venus in 2023. The mission to Venus will have 16 Indian and seven international payloads, Sivan said.</p>.<p>Sivan added that in the future, the Isro was also keen to join the international community for a manned mission to moon and a possible landing on an asteroid.</p>
