India to explore the moon in 3 years!

Why do the most virulent India-haters always seem to be displaced Indians?

Enough with the idiotic "feed your people" garbage. This ain't the Victorian era, people, so do try to bring yourself to read a newspaper printed in the last several decades and/or otherwise attempt to educate yourselves on the ground realities of the bloody world you live in.


The Indian space program is of crucial importance to both India's technology and military sectors. Indigenous development of high-technology industries developed for military and space programs have built from the ground up the intellectual, technological and commercial foundation for India's current industrial and tech boom!

And in similarity to India's infotech sector, the Indian space program is fast becoming the low-cost alternative to traditional American and European satelite launches. A whole range of countries from Korea to Israel to Singapore to France have used the ISRO to launch their payloads into space.

The current moon mission (NOT a manned moon landing people ), wherein India demonstrates the maturing of its launch industry through its capability to plan and execute trans-orbital missions is of crucial importance -- barring all reasons scientific or technological -- from even this business perspective.

Whereas China's space program seems to be more of a nationalistic prestige complex, the ISRO has been and continues to be probably the most pragmatic of all major space programs. Every single mission undertaken has to do with infrastructural or developmental reasons, just as Dr. Sarabhai's has stated as India's mission.


Here's an interesting article

India debates manned space flight as its lunar mission readies

Some excerpts...

India's space agency is ready to send a man to space within seven years if the government gives the nod, while preparations have already begun for the launch of an unmanned lunar mission, a top official said.
Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the country's premier space agency, said the scientific community in the country had already started a debate on the manned mission.

"The question of a manned mission is glaring before us now," Nair told AFP ahead of a lunar conference which kicks off in the northern Indian city of Udaipur on Monday.

"The thought process has begun and various agencies have come up with ideas. Whether it is now or later is a question to be considered," Nair said.


[...]


Nair said "a lot of debate" had to take place in India before a final decision is taken on a manned space flight.

"The benefits and the costs involved have to be examined. Various facilities and equipment such as a space capsule for human habitation, shielding, control and safety features have to be built -- a large amount of funding is required," he said.

India's unmanned lunar flight, Chandrayaan (Moon Journey), slated to launch by the end of 2007 or early 2008, was on schedule, Nair said.



[edit on 1-12-2004 by rajkhalsa2004]