India-US launch ‘new era’ in space cooperation
India and US have launched a ‘new era’ in space cooperation with Washington DC carrying out ‘significant lowering’ of barriers for New Delhi to access strategic technology.
This ‘new era’ includes both sides working toward a new ‘bilateral space accelerator’ that covers multiple sectors. The White House on Tuesday morning put a fact sheet on India-US cooperation in space saying this “bilateral accelerator” would include “commercial space cooperation, including lunar exploration, human spaceflight, (collecting) geospatial data and services, and the co-development of technology”.
The White House fact sheet defined the meeting its National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had on Monday with his Indian counterpart Ajit K Doval in New Delhi.
It said India and US have decided to hold the first bilateral experts’ exchange on space situational awareness and space traffic coordination in the first half of 2025. The White House explained, “This exchange builds upon the two nations’ shared commitment to pursue opportunities for deeper collaboration to ensure safe and sustainable space operations”.
Literally taking the next step, the two sides have agreed to explore additional avenues for cooperation in space exploration technologies, including docking missions on space stations, as well as India’s participation in the US Traffic Coordination System for Space programme.
A key to future cooperation will be the ‘human space flight’. Two ISRO astronauts are training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for the first-ever joint effort between American and Indian astronauts at the International Space Station. The mission called the ‘Axiom-4’ is planned in 2025 spring. “It marks a significant milestone in the US-India human spaceflight partnership and space exploration”, the White House said.
The two sides also reviewed the progress on the planned launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) in early 2025. The NISAR satellite integrates two radars – one from NASA and one from ISRO – which will map the motion of the Earth’s surface twice every 12 days to predict and respond to hazards, measure, and quantify changes to infrastructure and resources.
In June 2023, India signed the Artemis Accords, that is based on the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. The Accords are a set of non-legally binding principles to guide sustainable civil space exploration.
Earlier, Sullivan had, on Monday, informed Doval that the US is amending the missile export control policies to facilitate cooperation with India in outer space in terms of co-development opportunities. The US amendment is under the international Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). India is a member of the MTCR.
Change in the US policy will allow heaver payloads to be launched and benefit private commercial activities in exploration of space and its usage.
The MTCR is crucial for space exploration as it regulates export of missile technology and related items. A space rocket that launches a satellite in orbit uses a similar technology that is used for weapon-carrying missiles that travel in excess of 10,000 km, hence the curbs.
For space exploration, MTCR membership allows access to advanced technologies, such as cryogenic engines, which are essential for launching heavier payloads into space.
India has its own cryogenic engine to launch satellites. The US policy-change will allow rocket engines for deeper space missions.
