BY : FLIGHT GLOBAL

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing a 12-month project to report on the capsule technology needed for building a manned spacecraft.

By 2015 ISRO envisages a 4,000kg (8,800lb) manned capsule being placed into a 400km (250 miles) low-Earth orbit by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MkIII, which is expected to be ready for operations before the end of this decade.

ISRO has not yet indicated whether it would seek foreign assistance for building the manned capsule. China benefited from Russian expertise in the construction of its manned Shenzou vehicle.

"We will have to study new technology to develop the capsule to send astronauts into space and bring them back safely", says ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair.

The Indian government has set aside Rp800 million ($19 million) for the manned mission studies for this current financial year.

Madhavan emphasises that manned mission safety and reliability is a top priority, in particular the certification of foolproof systems for vehicle reliability, radiation shielding, telemetry, computers and communications.

Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on 13 August that the country's first manned flight had problems with a communications blackout during its Shenzhou-5 capsule's re-entry.

The report goes on to say that there were four "accidents", one with each of Shenzhou-5's four predecessors, during the 11 years leading up to the first flight in 2003.