Indian space programme rooted in international cooperation rather than competition: ISRO chief

“Space is for everyone, and the benefits from advances in the field should be enjoyed by every person on the globe,” said V. Narayanan, Secretary, Department of Space, Government of India, and the Chairperson of ISRO. 

Addressing the inaugural session of the US-India Space Business Forum in Bengaluru on February 10, he said, “India’s space programme was started not to compete with anybody, but to build advanced space technology to benefit the common man of India. Today, we strongly believe it is not only for India, but for the global community.” 

Collaborative achievements

Stressing the importance of collaboration, Mr. Narayanan pointed out that November 21, 1963 marked a major milestone for India, when the first tiny rocket lifted off from Indian soil.  

“It was the U.S. that gave that tiny rocket, Nike-Apache, to us. The sodium vapour payload came from France. The entire thing was integrated by our team in a small church building. That was the beginning of the space activity in the country,” he recalled. 

The collaboration continued in the years that followed. 

Noting that the U.S. was one of the partners in the Chandrayaan 1 mission, which provided the first clear evidence of the presence of water on the moon, Mr. Narayanan said that both countries can be proud of the discovery. He also hailed the Axiom mission, whose members included Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, and the NISAR mission, a joint project between NASA and ISRO, as other instances of fruitful collaborations. 

Indian space station by 2035

“Now, there is the India-USA civil space joint working group. A lot of things are happening in that area. ISRO personnel are being trained in NASA…. The human space flight programme is going to be a continuous programme. We are going to have a lot of collaborative efforts,” he said. 

Mr. Narayanan further said that India has come a long way since the space programme was launched. 

“As many as 433 satellites of 34 countries have been lifted off from Indian soil, including the heaviest satellite lifted from Indian soil for the USA. The Prime Minister has given clear directions that we are going to build our own space station by 2035. It is going to be a five-module construction. The first module will be lifted off by 2028, and we are working on it,” he said.