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BANGALORE, Jan. 4

IMAGINE a global `space' force taking care of virtually everything that one can think of, from drinking water, energy needs, connectivity, education, river networking, medicine, mining or navigation. Or even deflecting or killing the asteroid that is heading for a collision with Earth in the year 2880.

`A prosperous, happy and secure Planet Earth' through space. That is the dream that the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has woven out for the world's space agencies. With a consortium approach among themselves for a 50-year vision for partnership, the pilots of the world of space can end the man-planet conflict over land and resources and also terrorism spawned by poverty.

In the process they would benefit by building up a $100-billion industry, according to Dr Kalam, who today became the first President to address the Indian Science Congress in 90 years.

Space also has answers to energy problems: a constellation of low cost solar power stations in space can work up to 15 times more efficient than ground solar stations, he said.

Dr Kalam said the 40 years old global space industry with its one million scientists club is capable of launching 200 tonnes of satellites each year. But faced with a dwindling market for telecom satellites and saturated orbits, it should now form a global space force, explore new and meaningful missions that are also low-cost.

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