ISRO

'This mission will only project ISRO as a major player in commercial launch systems, ' he said.

Indian Space Research Organisation head G. Madhavan Nair has said the current mission will 'unravel the mystery of the moon. '

Others have warned that Isro's budget is expanding at a time when the country faces both an economic slowdown and widespread poverty.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials who conducted the unsuccessful launch were not immediately available for comment.

ISRO is developing the satellite in collaboration with India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Antrix says the 'ISRO launch services are economical compared to other Asian competitors. '

UNI, quoting unnamed ISRO officials, said a technical snag caused the rocket to malfunction.

ISRO has launched satellites for customers from Germany, Belgium, Indonesia and Argentina since 2001.

announced plans last month (18 October) for two Earth observation satellites, which will join six already in orbit.

ISRO officials rubbished as baseless claims in the Chinese media that there were some flaws in the Indian moon mission.

However, Isro says such talk underestimates India's final goals.

"What we have started is a remarkable journey, " G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of ISRO, told reporters.

ISRO has plans to send a manned mission to space in four years' time and eventually on to Mars.

Our ISRO is much more advanced than the Chinese Space Agencies.

In addition to a return to the moon, ISRO is also now planning an unmanned Mars mission by 2015.