印度计划建造小型空间站
India plans to establish its own "very small" space station in the next decade.
印度计划在下个十年建造自己的“小型”空间站。
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K. Sivan said Thursday that the ambitious project would follow a successful launch of a manned space flight scheduled by 2022.
"Our space station is going to be very small... useful to carry out experiments," Sivan told reporters in New Delhi.
"We are not having a big plan of sending humans on tourism and other things," he added.
A space station is capable of hosting crew members for years on end, and provides facilities for experiments and support vehicles to dock.
India's first manned space mission -- named Gaganyaan -- is due to take place by 2022, in time to commemorate 75 of years of the country's independence from Britain.
It will have two or three astronauts on a maximum seven-day mission.