India's space agency says it can build a space station but it won't

India’s space agency has time and again set world records and earned praises for operating on thin budgets. But one thing that many space enthusiasts in the country have longed for but haven’t seen getting materialised is a space station they could call their own. Could ISRO build one?

The answer is yes, according to AS Kiran Kumar, the chairman of ISRO, though the space agency isn’t convinced about whether building a space station or a manned satellite in the low orbit, is the best use of its time and energy currently.

“We still talk about what would be the immediate benefits of a manned space mission,” Kumar was quoted as saying. “That is why the country has not made up its mind about when to invest in a space station,” he said.

Prioritization is important for ISRO, which is already conducting three times the rocket launches than its capacity, Kumar added. For instance, according to estimates, building and maintaining a space station like the International Space Station costs about 100 billion euros -- over 100 times the annual budget of ISRO.

Not everyone agrees with ISRO’s approach, however. Former director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, MYS Prasad had said last year that the country should aim for long-term strategic goals while making a case for why we need a space station.

"It is time to look 10-15 years ahead rather than planning for incremental growth activities. Building our own space station will be beneficial on many counts and would also generate around 15,000 high-skilled jobs," Prasad, a Padma Shri awardee said last year.

Chatter about India participating in the International Space Station (ISS) have also been doing the rounds over the years. But ISRO continues to avoid programmes that are too costly.