Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing ‘green propulsion’ for its ambitious human space flight mission- Gaganyaan, chairman K Sivan said on Saturday.
It can be used in every stage of a rocket, he said while addressing the 16th convocation of SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai, reported The Times of India.
‘As India continues to focus on economic growth, it needs to ensure that environmental damage is limited by adopting green technologies,’ he said.
ISRO had previously made space-grade lithium-ion batteries to promote green energy. Sivan also mentioned that in future, all the propulsion stages may adopt green propulsion.
The space agency was supposed to launch its maiden human space flight mission ‘Gaganyaan’ by December 2021. But earlier this month, ISRO indicated that it is likely to be delayed by one year due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
Referring to the space sector reforms announced by the Centre in June, he said, ‘the government has already announced space sector reforms for greater participation of non-governmental entities in space activity’.
‘Our next PSLV launch will have satellite from start-up agencies which will be the first product of this reform,’ he said.
The Digital India initiative by the Centre was a key area to leverage and ISRO has already initiated reforms to make digital assets available easily to the industry as well as for startups for making innovative applications in navigation, earth observation as well as disaster management, he said.
