Manned space mission report ready: ISRO

Bangalore: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) says that it has finalised the project report for India's first manned space mission,slated for 2015, and will submit it for approval to the Government in the coming days.

"We have now finalised the project report on the manned mission. The report is going to the Government. The Government will have to review and take a decision soon", chairman, ISRO, and also secretary, Department of Space, Dr G Madhavan Nair, told reporters on the sidelines of a function here on Friday.

Dr Madhavan also said the report would be submitted to the Space Commission, which is scheduled to meet next week.

The Commission would give a recommendation on the total cost of the project, he said.

In 2006, the ISRO had said that a  preliminary estimated cost for the mission would be Rs10,000 crore, spread over an eight-year period.

Dr Nair said the ISRO is keen on attaining the 2015 target. He said that a "good clarity" about the road-map exists now with the finalisation of the project report.

"(In the report) we have assessed what are the technologies involved (for the manned mission), what are the facilities to be established, which of the agencies to participate and so on", Nair said.

He also said that ISRO would consider cooperation on the manned mission with other space agencies, but this would emerge only over a period of time.

The ISRO had carried out studies for four years from 2003 to examine the technological challenges of a manned space mission and the Indian capability to undertake it.