Gaganyaan training uncertain, Indian astronauts may head to International Space Station first

“The leaders (Modi and US President Joe Biden) hailed the announcement by NASA to provide advanced training to Indian astronauts at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, with a goal of mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024,” the joint statement said.

The four selected astronauts, whose identity has not been revealed, have been training for the Gaganyaan flight since early 2020. They have already undergone training in Russia. But Gaganyaan, originally meant to be launched in 2022, in the 75th year of India’s Independence, has seen its schedule getting postponed because of the pandemic.

2024 schedule

Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman hinted that the mission could be pushed back further from its current 2024 schedule.

“There are eight major tests (remaining to be carried out) and if all eight major tests happen successfully without any major glitch, then the launch could be happening in a 2024 timeframe. But if I face problems and challenges, which is natural in this process, then I have to discount the schedule,” S Somnath said recently in Bengaluru on the sidelines of an international conference.

Somnath said the primary objective of the mission was to ensure that the astronauts return safely to Earth and ISRO would not “rush” with the mission.

“This means that whenever there is a problem in the mission we have to test and see that the crew is saved. The first of the test missions is going to be in August… Two abort missions have to take place this year. This will be followed by an unmanned mission possibly by the beginning of next year. This will prove the entire event end to end but without a human being,” he had said.

The joint mission to the ISS, the only permanent laboratory in space right now, if it sticks to the 2024 date, might happen before Gaganyaan. NASA routinely sends astronauts to the ISS. It does not have to do any additional preparations. The Indian astronauts are already trained, and might only require a few weeks of ‘advanced training’ at NASA facilities.

Artemis Accords

Also, from the joint statement it appears that the mission to ISS is not a one-off project. It said that NASA and ISRO would develop “a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation” by the end of this year. That means that the two space agencies are looking at a long-term, more durable, partnership, specifically on human spaceflight missions as well.

The joint statement also talks about “enhanced commercial collaboration” between the private sector operating in the space economy of the two countries, and the need to “address export controls and facilitate technology transfer”. This marks a big departure from the days when the US used to impose strict controls on the export of space-related equipment, technology and materials to India.

With India also signing the Artemis Accords, the space agencies of the two countries are now headed for a closer partnership than ever before. The Artemis Accords are a set of 13 principles guiding the peaceful and cooperative exploration of space by all countries. The Accords were originally established by the US and seven other countries in October 2020. Since then, 19 other countries have joined this US-led initiative, the latest being India.

The Artemis Accords are tied very closely to NASA’s Artemis programme that is aimed at a return of human beings to the Moon, development of a self-sustaining permanent station on the lunar surface, and then using that to launch deep space exploration missions. The Accords are meant to establish common principles and rules for exploration of outer space “with the intention of advancing the Artemis programme”.

India and the US already have a thriving partnership in the space sector, with both countries doing collaborative projects and experiments on each other’s missions. The big highlight of this partnership, the NISAR (NASA ISRO Satellite Aperture Radar) satellite, would be launched from India next year.

But the Artemis Accords takes this partnership to the next level, even at the risk of India being seen as joining a US alliance on space matters. China and Russia, two of the most important space-faring nations, are not a part of the Artemis Accords which are sometimes criticised for being American-centric and promoting US interests in space.

India has ambitious plans for deep space exploration, human spaceflight missions and setting up its own space station. The opening up of the space sector to private participation has, to an extent, freed up ISRO to focus on these big scientific expeditions instead of using most of its time and effort in putting up satellites, commercial or otherwise. The private participation is also expected to create the industrial ecosystem that will enable ISRO to execute big projects.

Joining the Artemis Accords is also seen as a big step towards fulfilling those ambitious plans. The sign-up to the Accords does not automatically make India a partner in the Artemis programme, but it does open up possibilities for much closer cooperation in executing human space missions and planetary exploration.

“Equal partner”

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Department of Space Jitendra Singh on Friday said the signing of the Artemis Accords makes India an “equal partner” in the space sector and the intention will be to send an Indian astronaut to the ISS. “The US has a mission planned for 2024 but whether that mission will carry an Indian astronaut is still being worked out. Details of training the astronauts for the mission are also being worked out,” he said, adding that the “financial implication of the collaboration will not be much”.

“This signals that we are equal partners now. There will be no technology denial and at the same time we are capable too,” Singh added.

The Minister assured that India’s human spaceflight programme Gaganyaan will be a completely separate programme that will run parallel to the ISS mission. The Minister did not confirm or deny whether the batch of four astronauts who have already been trained for spaceflight under the Gaganyaan mission be sent to the ISS.

“Gaganyaan is a separate mission altogether. That (the in-training astronauts going for the ISS mission) may or may not happen. It will depend on their suitability,” said Singh.

With the India-US joint statement indicating a long-term collaboration between the space agencies, the Minister also shied away from answering whether that would mean future batches of Indian astronauts will receive some of their training in the US instead of Russia. The Minister said, “We have a relationship with Russia and we have a relationship with the US.”

The Minister added that the Artemis Accords will also extend to private players exploiting resources on the moon. “The idea is that there will be no harmful interference.”

(With inputs from Anonna Dutt)