ISRO to triple spacecraft output, launch Chandrayaan-4 in 2028: Chairman
Kolkata (PTI): ISRO is gearing up for one of its busiest times with seven more launches planned this financial year, even as India's first human spaceflight remains scheduled for 2027, its chairman V Narayanan said.
In an interview with PTI, he said ISRO is preparing for a phase of rapid scaling in science, technology and industry capacity.
Narayanan said ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is targeting seven more launches before the end of the current financial year, including a commercial communication satellite, and multiple PSLV and GSLV missions. A milestone will be the launch of the first PSLV manufactured entirely by the Indian industry.
The ISRO chief said the government has approved the Chandrayaan-4 mission, designed as a lunar sample-return mission and it will be India's most complex lunar endeavour yet.
"We are targeting 2028 for Chandrayaan-4," he said.
Another key mission is LUPEX, the joint lunar polar exploration programme with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
ISRO is simultaneously working to triple its annual spacecraft production in the next three years to keep pace with expanding mission demand.
Chandrayaan-4 will attempt to bring back samples from the moon -- a capability currently demonstrated only by the US, Russia and China.
LUPEX aims to study water ice at the lunar south pole.
Narayanan said ISRO has begun work on an Indian Space Station, targeted for completion by 2035.
"The first of the five modules will be placed in orbit by 2028," he said.
The endeavour would make India the third major nation to operate a space station, as the US-led ISS nears its end and China's Tiangong moves into full operation.
On India's maiden human-spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, Narayanan clarified that only the timeframe for uncrewed missions has shifted.
"Let me make it clear: the uncrewed mission was targeted for 2025. The crewed mission was always planned for 2027, and we are holding on to that date," he said.
Three uncrewed test missions will precede the first flight with Indian astronauts.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also directed ISRO to work towards sending Indian astronauts to the lunar surface and bringing them back safely by 2040.
India's long-term human-spaceflight plan now aligns it with the world's leading space powers. The US plans lunar crewed missions under Artemis, while China has set a 2030 target for its first crewed moon landing.
India's share in the global space economy is currently around 2 per cent, and ISRO is working towards increasing it to 8 per cent by 2030, Narayanan said.
India's space economy is currently valued at around USD 8.2 billion and is projected to grow to USD 44 billion by 2033, while the global space economy, he said, stands at about USD 630 billion currently and could reach USD 1.8 trillion by 2035.
He said the space-sector reforms have sharply increased private participation.
Narayanan said more than 450 industries and 330 startups are now active in India's space ecosystem -- a massive rise from just three startups a few years ago.
"We now have a vibrant base ecosystem, and it will grow further," he said.
India's private space industry has accelerated post regulatory reforms in 2020, enabling private rocket development, satellite manufacture and commercial launch services.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
