ISRO Chairman S Somnath said the space agency is working on the design of the rocket and would like industry to partner with it in its development. Theoretical studies are conducted. In picture Model of ISRO Space Station

India is planning to launch its own space station by 2035. For this Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has presented a plan to the industry. ISRO is trying to put heavy payloads into orbit and make reusable rockets. Such a rocket is called the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV)  ISRO Chairman S Somnath said the space agency is working on the design of the rocket and would like industry to partner with it in its development.

Somnath said, the intention is to bring the industry along in the development process. We don’t need to invest all the money. We want the industry to invest in building this rocket for all of us. He said the rocket is planned to carry a 10 ton payload to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) or 20 ton payload to low Earth orbit.

A model of the proposed Space Station by ISRO
Another ISRO official said the new rocket would be helpful as India plans to set up its space station by 2035 and will be able to undertake deep space missions, manned space flights, cargo missions and put multiple communication satellites into orbit at the same time. But he has an eye too. NGLV is designed as a simple, robust machine for bulk production. This will make transportation in space economical.

Somnath said the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs) are based on technology developed in the 1980s and cannot be used to launch rockets in future. ISRO plans to design the NGLVs in a year and can be offered to the industry for production with its first launch likely to be in 2030.

The NGLV will be a three-stage rocket powered by green fuel using methane and liquid oxygen or kerosene and liquid oxygen which would be a semi-cryogenic engine. According to the plan tabled by Somnath at a conference earlier this month, the NGLV can carry payloads at a cost of $1,900 per kg in reusable form and $3000 per kg in excretory form.