नवीनतम
ISRO-NASA mission to ISS likely to face delay: Parl panel
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The much-awaited ISRO-NASA mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is unlikely to take place anytime soon. Noting the “drastic” cut in the Budget allocation for the mission for FY 2025-26, a parliamentary committee has observed that the reduction indicated a “deferral of the mission to a later date”.
The Joint ISRO-NASA Mission to the ISS faced a substantial Budget cut at the revised estimate stage in FY 2024-25 from Rs 715 crore to Rs 412 crore, revealed a report on space by the Department-Related Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
The report noted the allocation was further reduced in the latest Budget. “The Budget estimate for FY 2025-26 has been drastically reduced to Rs 135 crore, reflecting the deferral of the mission to a later date,” the report said.
In August last year, ISRO had announced that an Indian astronaut would be sent to the ISS, in collaboration with the US space agency. Although timeline for the mission was not announced, it was initially reported that the mission could take off sometime in October. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the IAF has been chosen to be the Indian representative of the four-member crew of the mission. However, the mission has been getting delayed with no launch date announced so for.
Exposure to the ISS is aimed at preparing Indian astronauts for ISRO’s own human spaceflight programme “Gaganyaan” — which also saw a budget reduction at the revised estimate stage for 2024-25 – from Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 847.35 crore. The actual expenditure till December 2024 stood at Rs 627.05 crore, reflecting delays in hardware realisation and milestone-based payments.
While the Budget Estimate 2025-26 restored the allocation for the mission to Rs 1,200 crore, suggesting that higher spending was expected in the coming year, the MPs’ panel led by BJP’s Bhubaneshwar Kalita expressed concern over the repeated fund reductions.
