An Indian on the moon by 2040, says ISRO chief Narayanan

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing a 40-storey tall rocket to help man's landing on the moon, claimed ISRO chief Dr V. Narayanan while addressing the Burdwan University convocation here today.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Burdwan, 20 August

"The rocket is designed to carry a 75,000-kg payload into the lower orbit," he said while outlining ISRO's upcoming projects, including NAVIC (Navigation & Indian Constellation) satellite and the N1 rocket. "These are in addition to the launch of a 6,500-kg communications satellite of the USA - a commercial launch using Indian launch vehicle LVM3," Dr Narayanan said.

He became the star attraction at the convocation, as BU Chancellor, Governor CV Anand Bose, and state Education Minister Bratya Basu, could not attend.