Bolstering cooperation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday that the United States is willing to help India build its own space station.
Prime Minister Nelson, who visited India, said that the United States and India are pursuing a plan to send Indian astronauts to the International Space Station by the end of next year, and that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch a state-of-the-art space station. – A joint venture satellite with NASA (NISAR) scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.
Nelson met Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh here and discussed strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the space sector.
An official statement from the Ministry of Science and Technology said, “ISRO is also investigating the feasibility of utilizing NASA’s High Velocity Impact Test (HVIT) facility to test the Gaganyan Module Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) shield.”
During the meeting, the two leaders also discussed U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposal to send Indian astronauts to the International Space Station in 2024.
“The choice of astronauts will be decided by ISRO. NASA will not make the choice,” Nelson said while speaking to reporters here.
Nelson urged Singh to expedite a program involving India’s first astronaut to fly to the International Space Station aboard a NASA rocket.
NASA is identifying opportunities in private astronaut missions for Indian astronauts in 2024.
Replying to a question, he said the US was ready to cooperate with India in building a space station if it wanted to.
“We expect to have a commercial spaceport by then. I think India wants to have a commercial spaceport by 2040. If India wants to cooperate with us, of course we can. But that’s up to India.” Nelson said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked ISRO to build an Indian space station by 2035 and aim to land astronauts on the moon by 2040.
Built at a cost of $1.5 billion (nearly Rs. 12,500 crore), the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is targeted to be mounted on India’s GSLV rocket.
NISAR’s data are well suited to study terrestrial ecosystems, deformation of the solid Earth, mountains and polar cryosphere, sea ice, and coastal oceans from regional to global scales.
ISRO developed S-band SAR at JPL/NASA integrated with NASA’s L-band SAR. Integrated L&S band SAR is currently being tested with satellites at the UR Rao Satellite Center (URSC) in Bengaluru with participation from NASA/JPL officials.
According to an official statement, ISRO and NASA have formed a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Human Spaceflight Cooperation and are exploring collaboration in radiation impact studies, micrometeorites and orbital debris shield research. Cosmic health, medical aspects.
ISRO is also discussing specific cooperation items with prominent US industries (Boeing, Blue Origin, Voyager, etc.) and is also exploring joint collaborations with Indian commercial entities.
ISRO and NASA are reviewing a concept paper on implementation commitments. After several iterations, both sides reached a mutually agreed upon draft and the same was processed for approval within the government, an official statement said.
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