After all, why lack ambition? The Indian Space Agency, ISRO, will have a lot to do in the decade to come. The Prime Minister has in fact outlined the broad outlines of their future space adventures. On the menu ? Manned flights in 2025, before a space station and even steps on the Moon, for 2040.
Space India is on an upward trajectory. After several years of preparation, successes have been achieved. We saw it this summer with the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and the spin of the small Pragyan rover not far from the lunar South Pole. We also see it this fall with the various communications around the Gaganyaan manned capsule project. Yes, India should soon reach a particular technological and political level, that of astronautics. This Saturday for the first time, a habitable capsule will take off to test the in-flight emergency evacuation system which will, one day, ensure the safety of Indian astronauts. There will be no one on board in 2023, but the main thing is elsewhere: the national agency, ISRO, is moving forward by leaps and bounds. And the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, took the opportunity this week to give him long-term objectives.
Human flights, coming soon
It was to comment on the progress of the Gaganyaan project that Narendra Modi spoke, because he was the one who wanted this manned space program. Indeed, even if there were already technical premises, it was on the Indian National Independence Day (August 15) 2018 that he presented the Gaganyaan program to the public. Originally, the capsule was to take off into orbit with Indian astronauts in 2022, but the schedule quickly proved too ambitious… However, the file is progressing quickly. The first astronauts are trained, the capsule is soon ready for a first orbital flight without anyone on board, and it is time for full-scale tests. The first manned flight has been postponed until 2025. But the Prime Minister is already looking far, much further. And he didn’t blink an eye when announcing a project for an Indian space station by 2035, and even the first Indian steps on the Moon in 2040!
And then, the Moon?
Narendra Modi also called for intensifying efforts for space probes to Venus and Mars, after the success this year of the launch of India’s first heliophysics mission Aditya-L1. However, these multiple efforts cannot materialize without very strong budgetary stimulation, and the committed participation of the Indian private sector, which is still in its infancy. “NewSpace India Limited”, for example, is helping to democratize PSLV rocket flights, but the commercial field still has a lot to prove, all in a context where manned flights (which remain complex) are not currently supported to great cooperation. India is not a participant in the ISS, and remains a fairly independent space nation today.
Beware of enthusiasm
ISRO also does not seem in a hurry to establish a solid partnership with its Russian counterpart Roscosmos, which has already made several calls on it in the astronautical field and which would undoubtedly be delighted if it collaborated on the ROSS project of the future. station. It therefore remains to be seen whether once again the political domain will be able to stimulate the public and private duo in the service of Indian space. As for lunar projects, 2040 is far away, and it will take a lot of effort to get there. Alone, India has not yet proven as much as China, which nevertheless still announces 5 to 10 years of development! The objective is therefore very ambitious. Too much ? A warning: failures in human spaceflight are heavy to bear. But how beautiful it is to turn towards Space.
Source : SpaceNews
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