S.Somanath Emphasizes Working On a Modular Concept Of Building a Rocket That Can Do Everything

ISRO aims to launch an Indian Space Station by 2028 and have it completely functional by 2035, ahead of the Gangayaan Project.” ISRO Chief S.Somanath stated during an hour-long live session on Instagram.

Elaborating on visiting the Moon as an expensive project and requiring huge capabilities, ISRO Chairman S.Somanath emphasized the importance of forming ways to safely return humans to Earth. He announced that Indian astronauts on a joint ISRO-NASA mission called Axiom-4 to the International Space Station will conduct five space experiments. Somanath also outlined ISRO’s manned moon mission by 2040, facilitated by the development of the partially reusable Next-Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) which will enable lunar and beyond. It is pertinent to mention that NGLV or "Soorya" (previously referred to as Unified Launch Vehicle or ULV) is a three-stage partially reusable rocket, currently under development by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Somanath said, “ISRO should develop heavier payload vehicles in the future as we have the capabilities to develop it. We are currently working on our capabilities to lift at least 10 tons to a lower orbit with LVM-3 which is 4.5 tons. We are working on a modular concept of building a rocket that can do everything. With a one concept, we should be able to do regular AVR space launchers or satellites to build space stations and maybe in the future take it up to the moon.” He said, "Developing a rocket is a long-term investment project. ISRO is spending a huge sum of money on this. We must find ways for the commercial utilization aspect also. With this angle, we are looking at the capability, whether it will serve sectors like launching a regular satellite as well as building a space station, whether the future rocket would be cost-effective, helpful to take humans to the moon, environment-friendly, easy to produce and can sustain easily for 20-25 years of meeting the demands we are emphasizing."