The Indo-Russian Space Odyssey

India had always a very strong bilateral relationship with Russia. A time tested, longstanding relationship that dates back to the cold war times. Industrial collaboration, defence programs or strategic support at the UN Security Council, Russia has always been in support of India, and vice versa. The relation between India and Russia have been based on several factors like, science and technology, defence acquisitions, Hydrocarbon, space collaboration, nuclear energy collaborations, trade and commerce, cultural and specially people to people relation that goes back a long time.

However, certain dissonance did crop up post the US and India nuclear deal in 2008. The growing military relationship between India and US is also a cause of concern, because so far India has been dependent on Russia for its military armaments. More than 70 percent of India’s military armaments are from Russia.  The space collaboration between the two countries date back to the eighties, when in 1984 Indian Astronaut Rakesh Sharma was aboard the Soviet space shuttle Soyuz T 11 to Salyut 7 space station.

India and Russia are natural allies and The BRICS summit is expected to see signing of agreements or documents in various sectors like the agriculture, hydrocarbon, transport, nuclear energy apart from defence.

Talks are going on for the Russians to train Indian astronauts at a space training station close to Moscow before the Indian Astronauts fly the very first India’s manned mission “Gaganyaan” in 2022, reinforcing the long standing space collaboration. This is also one of the major points of discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin in Delhi during the annual bilateral summit.

Russia had offered to train the Indian Astronauts during the discussion between India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russia’s deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov in Moscow on the 14^th of September, 2018. There is also a probability of the Russians to take the crew members of “Gaganyaan” to International Space Station which is a habitable artificial satellite in low earth orbit. This has been operational from 1998. It is a joint collaboration project between Russia’s Roscosmos, National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the US, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency and European Space Agency.

In 2007 India and Russia had also signed a framework agreement on mutual cooperation in the peaceful uses of the outer space. The current collaborations will strengthen those agreements further.

By: Madhuchanda Saxena

Content: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/russia-may-train-indian-astronauts-for-gaganyaan-at-its-space-centre/articleshow/66036442.cms