Decision on manned mission in a year: Nair

Bangalore, May 9: Indian Space Research Organisation has put off for a year a decision on manned space programmes, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said today.

Speaking to newsmen after signing an MoU with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on carrying to US payloads onboard the Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden planetary mission scheduled for early 2008, he said ISRO was pondering over the issue as possibility existed in robots for such missions. ''If we decided on manned mission, ISRO can think of sending an Indian cosmonaut for training in the US''.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin replying to a question said that there was no proposal for US accommodating an Indian space farer in its shuttle missions. ''We have international commitments for the next four years and it is full'' he said adding that NASA would be sending astronauts to build and maintain the International Space Station.

He said in all 17 shuttle missions have been planned for the Space station construction and maintenance besides one mission to Hubble telescope.

He said Astronaut Sunita Williams, of Indian origin, would be part of the crew for the space shuttle mission planned next year.

UNI