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India to build a Space Station – Bharatiya Antariksha Station

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Credit: Office of the Prime minister of India

On October 17th 2023, the Indian Prime Minister voiced India’s intentions to build a space station by 2035 and to send the first Indian crewed flight to the Moon by 2040. The formal announcement by the Press Bureau of India (text below) followed an in-person presentation to the Prime Minister by the ISRO chairman – S Somanath. The intention to establish an Indian space station was first announced in 2019 by the then ISRO chairman, K Sivan. Although this announcement is more formal and official, it is not much more than a press release. As significant as this public political undertaking, coming from the office of the prime minister is, there is no formal commitment of the funding to go with it. Yet. This is not unusual. India does not always employ a formal, structured long-term approach, like that for example of China’s rolling five-year plans. India’s journey towards a space station and eventually crewed flight to the surface of the Moon may be a little erratic and may even include a few cul-de-sac, it will get there.

The objectives and target dates for grand national programmes, for example USA’s Apollo programme of the 1960s, are usually determined by geopolitical rivalries. Then it was the USSR then but now it is the rapid growth of China’s space programme that motivated the USA’s Artemis to return to the Moon by 2025. The impetus for India’s date for the “first Indian to the Moon by 2040” is also China which has its target date for its first crewed mission to the lunar surface by 2030. In practice I suspect India will push that 1940 date to 1947 – the centenary of Indian independence.

The prime minister’s decision came on the back of the success of the lunar Chandrayaan-3 mission and the many-years-delayed launch of India’s first solar observatory, Aditya-L1. ISRO is also expected to undertake an uncrewed in-flight abort test on 21st of October 2021 of its crew module. This is one of the several tests towards India’s first crewed flight, known as the Gaganyaan mission. Targeted for 2025, the Gaganyaan mission will take a crew (nominally of three – but I will reckon it will be two) on probably a 24 hour flight to low Earth orbit.

The announcement, unhelpfully refers to a the HLVM-3 – the human rated LVM-3. This is unfortunate and so soon after ISRO, earlier this year, appeared to have settled on a naming convention of LVM-3 instead of of GSLV-3.

Prime Minister reviews readiness of Gaganyaan Mission

Indian Space Station to be set up by 2035

India to send Man to Moon by 2040

India to undertake missions to Venus and Mars
Posted On: 17 OCT 2023 1:53PM by PIB Delhi
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to assess progress of India’s Gaganyaan Mission and to outline the future of India’s space exploration endeavours.

The Department of Space presented a comprehensive overview of the Gaganyaan Mission, including various technologies developed so far such as human-rated launch vehicles and system qualification. It was noted that around 20 major tests, including 3 uncrewed missions of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3) are planned. First demonstration flight of the Crew Escape System Test Vehicle is scheduled on 21 October. The meeting evaluated the mission’s readiness, affirming its launch in 2025.

Building on the success of the Indian space initiatives, including the recent Chandrayan-3  and Aditya L1 Missions, Prime Minister directed that India should now aim for new and ambitious goals, including setting up ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ (Indian Space Station) by 2035 and sending first Indian to the Moon by 2040.

To realize this Vision, the Department of Space will develop a roadmap for Moon exploration. This will encompass a series of Chandrayaan missions, the development of a Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), construction of a new launch pad, setting up human-centric Laboratories and associated technologies.

ISRO’s Inflight abort test for Gaganyaan

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This piece first appeared in TheSpceReview.com on 23rd October 2023

In 2025 India is planning its first spaceflight, carrying a human crew onboard an Indian launch vehicle, launched from India. On 21st October 2023 ISRO conducted an uncrewed in-flight abort test. One minute into the flight, the Crew Escape System fired for just over two seconds pulling the crew module away from the launch vehicle. The momentum took the crew module to an altitude of 17km where the Crew Escape System itself separated from the crew module. Neither the launch vehicle or the Crew Escape System were recovered. The crew module descended to a safe splash down 10km downrange, first using a pair of drogue parachutes and then three main parachutes. About nine minutes after launch the mission concluded having met all the mission objectives successfully.

ISRO concluded this in-flight abort test a complete success despite the poor weather which obscured the launch and the descent. Infrared cameras and the telemetry provided ISRO with the data it required. The ISRO chairman explained that the unexpected hold at T-5s during the first launch attempt was due to the automatic launch sequence detecting a weather threshold breach. The rescheduled launch attempt 45 minutes later was successfully completed despite the crew capsule initially floating upside down. This is not an unexpected outcome for NASA as the Apollo 11 crew capsule was discovered just after splashdown in July 1969. NASA referred to this position as “Stable 2”. 

Credit ISRO
Flight Profile. Credit ISRO

In emergencies ships have lifeboats, aircraft have inflatable evacuation slides. Most crewed launch vehicles heading for space have launch abort or escape systems. They can be activated on the launchpad before launch or soon after launch. Like an ejection seat used by a fighter pilot in an emergency, small but fast acting solid motors separate the crew module from the rest of the launch vehicle for a safe evacuation. Today almost all crewed flights employ a Crew Escape System. Since Yuri Gagarin’s first human spaceflight in 1961, Launch Escape Systems have been activated in three instances and saved the lives of the crew in each case.

In April 1984, Rakesh Sharma, India’s first astronaut, spent a week on board Salyut 7 as part of the USSR’s Interkosmos programme. Six months earlier, on 26 September 1983 Gennady Strekalov, the flight engineer and his commander Vladimir Titov survived the fire that broke out moments before the launch of Soyuz T-10-1. The crew escape system fired, separating the crew module from the inferno that engulfed the launch vehicle seconds later. The crew module landed safely 4 km aways. The commander and engineer were bruised and shaken but fully recovered aided by cigarettes and vodka.

Test Vehicle, Crew Module and Crew Escape System. Credit ISRO

Both Rakesh Sharma and Ravish Malhotra watched this drama unfold in real time, the next Soyuz flight would be theirs. On April 2nd 1984, Gennady Strekalov and Rakesh Sharma were part of the crew launched on the successful Soyuz-T-11 mission to Salyut-7. Sharma and Malhotra had been in training in Star City since September 1982. Both were Indian Airforce test pilots and familiar with the high risk missions. Sharma recalled he did not tell his wife about witnessing this launch failure “as had been my practice right through my flying and testing career”.

Soyuz-T-10 was the second instance, the first took place during the Soyuz 7K-T No.39 mission almost a decade earlier. It was taking a crew of two to the Salyut 4 space station on 5th April 1975. About five minutes after launch, separation between stage two and stage three did not go as planned, compromising the mission. The Soyuz activated the escape system separating the crew module from the launch vehicle. Twenty minutes after launch the crew landed safely in the USSR on a snow covered hill side close to the Chinese border. Thinking they may have landed in China, the crew destroyed sensitive documents associated with the military experiments they intended to conduct in orbit. Thanks to their survival suits and training, they endured the freezing temperature overnight and were recovered on the following day.

The third incident took place on 11 October 2018 when Soyuz M10 experienced a booster separation issue a few minutes after launch. This meant NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin would not reach their destination, the ISS. The Soyuz initiated the abort, separating the crew module from the launch vehicle and landed safely about 20 minutes after launch. Despite experiencing a force of around 7G, both crew members were safely recovered in good health and returned to Baikonur. MS-12 launched in March 2019 and successfully completed the mission objectives originally planned for the MS-10 mission.

Developing and testing Crew Escape System is one of the many prerequisite critical systems ISRO must develop and demonstrate prior to the first crewed flight. India’s human spaceflight programme has had a chequered history. The first public report of India’s intention to develop a human spaceflight programme came in 2007. The programme was formalised and announced in 2009 but not really funded. At that time, the close relationship between ISRO and Roscosmos was expected to deliver results by 2016. That timeline did not materialise but ISRO has been quietly developing many of the critical systems required for the Gaganyaan programme since. The formal political announcement came from the prime minister on independence day, 15th August 2018. The goal then was the first crewed flight in 2023 to mark India’s 75th year of independence. Many delays including from covid lockdown has shifted the first launch to at least 2025. In the meantime, ISRO has been developing critical technologies including environmental control systems, prototypes of spacesuits and human rating the LVM-3. It has also conducted a drop test of the crew module from a helicopter and the recovery procedure after splashdown.

On 5 July 2018, ISRO conducted a pad abort test. Whilst stationary at the launch pad, the crew module was pulled away to an altitude of about 3 km and safely splashed down less than 5 mins later in the Bay of Bengal. ISRO has conducted two flights that have involved recovering a spacecraft ISRO has launched. During a short 20 minute suborbital flight on 18 December 2014, ISRO conducted the Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (LVM3-X/CARE). This was an experimental sub-orbital flight powered only by the first and second stages of an LVM-3. In January 2007, ISRO launched the Space Recovery Experiment. After 12 days in orbit, the SRE-1 was commanded to reenter allowing ISRO to test procedures for de-orbit, navigation, guidance, thermal protection, parachutes and recovery from a predesignated point in the Indian Ocean. That 2007 recovered module is now in an ISRO museum.

ISRO tends to avoid launches in October when the monsoon season is still active. The poor visibility, the unexpected hold during the first launch attempt, the recovery of the capsule by the Indian Navy from an initially stable 2 position all made a positive contribution to this rehearsal towards an actual crewed mission. In June 2023, India signed NASA’s Artemis Accords. It included a potential flight of an Indian astronaut to the ISS in 2024. It is unlikely but if that happens, the astronaut selected will be one of four Indian Air Force test pilots already trained in Star City in preparation for the Gaganyaan mission. So it may well be that the next Indian astronaut to fly in space will be on the ISS, before Gaganyaan.

ISRO’s Human Spaceflight. Preparing for Gaganyaan. Test Vehicle TV-D1

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On October 21st 2023, ISRO will conduct an in-flight abort test in preparation for its first human crewed launch in the Gaganyaan mission in 2025.

Credit ISRO

In this test, ISRO will test the mission abort mechanisms. In an emergency the crew module is separated from the launch vehicle and ejected at high speed to land softly a few kilometres away. These emergency mission aborts can occur at the launch pad or a few minutes after launch.

On 5 July 2018, ISRO conducted a pad abort test. Whilst stationary at the launch pad, the crew module was pulled away to an altitude of about 3 km and safely splashed down less than 5 mins later in the Bay of Bengal.

Today, pad abort and in-flight abort safety systems are an integral part of all crewed spaceflight missions to evacuate the crew in an emergency.

Throughout the more than six decades of human spaceflight, emergency abort mechanisms have been activated three times with human crew involved.

The first incident took place during the Soyuz 7K-T No.39 mission. It was taking a crew of two to the Salyut 4 space station on 5th April 1975. An unsuccessful separation between stage ​two and stage three compromised the mission. The Soyuz activated the abort sequence separating the crew module from the launch vehicle. Twenty minutes after launch the crew landed safely in the USSR on a snow covered hill side close to the Chinese border.

The second one was observed live by Rakesh Sharma in real-time, six months before his own flight. On 26 September 1983 Gennady Strekalov, the flight engineer and his commander Vladimir Titov survived the fire that broke out moments before the launch of Soyuz T-10-1. The built-in safety pad abort mechanism activated separating the crew module from the launch vehicle. The crew module landed safely 4 km aways. Rakesh Sharma and Ravish Malhotra watched the drama play out live. Six month later Rakesh Sharma sitting next to Gennady Strekalov launched on Soyuz-T-11 to Salyut-7 for his week long stay in space.

The third incident took place on 11 October 2018 when Soyuz M10 experienced a booster separation issue a few minutes after launch. It meant that NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin would not be able to reach their destination, the ISS. An abort was initiated, the crew capsule separated from the launch vehicle and landed safely about 20 minutes after launch.

All three instances saved lives. No lives have been lost in space but several on the journey to or during the return. All the crew on two space shuttles (Challenger 1986 and Columbia 2003) were lost. The Space Shuttle design did not incorporate a similar abort mechanism. This is the scenario being tested by ISRO on 21st October 2023.

Why India signed the USA’s Artemis Accords and why now?

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First published in the Autumn 2023 edition of Room. Space Journal of Asgardia.

Updated 23rd September 2023 – Astrotalkuk.org Read full text online below or download pdf here.

During India’s Prime Minister Modi’s 4-day visit to the USA from 20th to 24th June 2023, India signed the Artemis Accords. Why did India do that, what was in it for the USA and why did it happen then?

The Artemis Accords is a non-binding bilateral agreement (thus not international law) between the USA (NASA and the USA State Department) and each nation that signs up. It specifies 10 principles, ostensibly consistent with the United Nation’s 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST), for international cooperation in the civil exploration of the Moon, Mars, Comets and Asteroids. It was announced on 13th October 2020 during the 71st International Astronautical Congress in Dubai. The initial number of 10 countries (Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States) has gradually grown since. On 22nd June 2023, India made it to 27 countries. Since then Argentina and Germany have signed bringing the total to 29.

Why did India sign when it did? The technologies for commercial exploitation of resources on the Moon and other celestial bodies is now sufficiently mature that every nation that can is rushing headlong to get their stake in the ground. The Moon has a very large deposits of many commercially sought after materials substances for example Helium-3 and Lithium. The technology to mine, refine and transport back to Earth is not yet present. But when it arrives, those nations with a presence on the Moon will be ready.

Indian Ambassador Taranjit Sandhu, signs the Artemis Accords on 21 June, 2023. US Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary for India, Nancy Jackson (left), NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and ISRO Space Counsellor, Krunal Joshi.

The number of missions beyond Earth’s orbit, especially to the lunar surface is expected to dramatically increase in this decade. Out of the six lunar landings scheduled in 2023, so far Japan’s (Hakuto-R) failed in April, Russia’s Luna 25 was lost in August. India succeeded with its first soft landing with Chandrayaan-3 on 23rd August 2023. Another from Japan (SLIM), and two NASA commissioned, private sector missions (Nova-C IM-1 and Peregrine) could land before the end of 2023.

As more companies and countries gain a foothold on the Moon, they will benefit from an agreed set of common rules. That is where the Accords come in. The Accords require all countries that sign to abide by a number of principles when operating in space beyond the Earth. The 10 principles include:

1. Peaceful uses: cooperative activities are exclusively for peaceful purposes and in accordance with international law.

2. Transparency: commit to broad dissemination of information regarding their national policies and exploration plans. Agree to share scientific information with the public on a good-faith basis consistent with Article XI of the OST.

3. Interoperability: agree to develop infrastructure to common standards for space hardware and operating procedures that include fuel storage, landing systems, communication, power and docking systems.

4. Emergency Assistance: commit to offering all reasonable efforts to render assistance and comply with the rescue and return agreement as outlined in the OST.

5. Registration of Objects: agree to register and publicly establish which space objects, (on the surface, in orbit or in space) are owned and operated by who.

6: Release of Scientific data: commit to openly sharing scientific data arising from space exploration missions. Not mandatory for private-sector operations.

7. Preserving Outer Space Heritage: undertake to ensure new activities help preserve and do not undermine space heritage sites of historical significance.

8. Space Resources: signatories affirm that extraction of resources does not inherently constitute national appropriation under Article II of the OST.

9. Deconfliction of Space Activities: undertake exploration with due consideration to the UN guidelines for the long-term sustainability of Outer Space Activities as adopted by United Nations Committee for Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in 2019. Activities, where potential harmful interference could occur, should be restricted to pre-identified Safety Zones. The size, location and nature of operations in a Safety Zone should be notified to all signatories and the UN Secretary-General.

10 Orbital Debris: signatories agree to limit harmful debris in orbit through mission planning that includes selecting flight orbital profiles that minimise conjunction risk, minimising debris release during the operational phase, timely passivation and end-of-life disposal.

The current and next decade will see multiple nations arriving at the Moon, near-Earth asteroids and comets for space exploration and commercial exploitation. The accords define a set of guidelines, principles, and a set of common norms and behaviours that are mutually beneficial when operating missions far from Earth. But why not simply sign up for the United Nations Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Treaty? Whilst the Outer Space Treaty, established in 1967 has 113 signatories, The Moon Treaty (1979), only 18 parties have agreed to be bound by it. India is one of those 18 but has not yet ratified.

Why have so few nations signed up to the Moon Treaty? All to do with the legal status of extracting resources from the Moon. Article I of the OST describes outer space which includes the Moon and other celestial objects as being the “province of all mankind” and “is not subject to national appropriation”. Further, article II in the Moon Treaty explicitly forbids any part of the Moon from becoming the property of a nation, a private organisation or a person. Countries don’t sign up to the OST because they consider it will restrict their future potential commercial operations in space and especially on the lunar surface. The Artemis Accords, on the face of it, offer a workaround. All member nations affirm that extraction of resources “does not inherently constitute national appropriation under Article II of the OST.” In other words, you can extract and own the resources but have no claim of ownership of the place from which they came. How legally robust that is, only time will tell. The Artemis Accords (now with 29) already has more signatories than the Moon Treaty (with 18).

But there is another reason why nations may join the Artemis Accords. As the name suggests, The Artemis Accord signatories get to join the already International “Artemis Programme”. What that actually means will depend on the capability each nation can bring to the table. Even a small nation, new entrants like Romania and Rwanda with minimal capability will have access to and opportunities for cooperation. A key benefit of any club membership is access to other members of that club.

Why has India joined only now? Artemis Accords has a competitor. Less than a year after the Artemis Accords were announced, China and Russia established the International Lunar Research Station. The ILRS is a lunar base designed for conducting scientific research. It includes all the support facilities on the lunar surface, in lunar orbit and transport between Earth and the Moon. Two years on, only four nations have joined (Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Venezuela) China and Russia.

India has always remained non-aligned. It has kept its options opened and lipped between USSR, Europe or the USA – wherever its interests were best served at the time. A lesson learnt during the international sanctions regime following India’s nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998. India’s first rocket launched into space in 1963 came from the USA. Its first satellite and first astronaut went to Earth orbit on USSR launch vehicles. India used the Space Shuttle to launch one of its communication satellites in 1983, collaborated with NASA on its first Moon mission in 2007 and is preparing to launch a joint ISRO/NASA Earth observation in 2023. ISRO has launched European satellites and engaged the European Ariane 5 to launch its heavy GEO satellites. Over the last 5 years, Russia has been assisting ISRO with its Gaganyaan (Human Spaceflight) programme.

Sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine have severely diminished its ability to collaborate in space. Right now and in the foreseeable future, India sees more opportunities with the USA than with Russia.

The geopolitical and economic landscape of mid-2023 was just right for the USA to invite India and India to accept. It was in USA’s interest to get India onboard. It is a win-win situation. As a result, India will have access to technology and know-how for its upcoming high priority Human Spaceflight Programme, Gaganyaan. For the USA, India joining is a huge boost for the Accords which will motivate more countries to join the Accords rather than the ILRS. Setting the Accords on the road to becoming the de facto standard.

The principles of the Accords are said to be “grounded” in the OST and the Moon Agreement, but the Accords is not a United Nations product but has its origins in the USA State Department and NASA. If and when France and Italy sign-up, the Accords will become the default go-to framework for international collaboration in space. In the process, pretty much side-lined the ILRS. A geopolitical win for the USA.

Recognising the importance of India signing the accords, India extracted significant concessions that included space and non-space-related benefits. Although diplomatic ambiguity obscures any direct connection to the significant concessions.

Additional USA-India agreements announced at the same time include :

a NASA/ISRO joint mission to the ISS in 2024 (this tight timeline may not be met but more immediately this may ‘facilitate” NASA support for India’s Gaganyaan programme)

 support India’s membership of the Mineral Security Partnership

establish a joint Indo-US mechanism between industry, government and academia for artificial intelligence, information science and quantum information.

A new public-private cooperation forum for the development of advanced communication using 5G and 6G.

A multimillion-dollar investment to establish a semiconductor ecosystem which will include semiconductor assembly and test facilities in India.

In addition to collaborative activities in space, and bilateral economic opportunities, perhaps the most significant concession was the 4 days state visit by India’s prime minister to the USA and the opportunity to address a joint meeting of the US Congress. A public endorsement from the president of the most powerful democracy to the prime minister of the largest one. Particularly useful for a prime minister looking to win a 3rd term in elections in India in 2024. In return, the USA, through India’s membership, boosted the future success of the Artemis Accords and the Artemis Programme.

However, the Artemis Accords are not legally binding. It is not a treaty or an agreement but a set of Accords. There is no compliance or enforcement mechanism. Despite it being a product with roots in one country, currently, it is the only framework that can offer practical value and tangible benefits to all nations with space missions beyond the Earth.

In the USA, the Wolf Amendment legally restricts how NASA can collaborate with Chinese Space missions. Whilst the Wolf Amendment does not legally prohibit China from signing the Accords, in practice that is the effective outcome. Over the last decade, China checked off some astonishing accomplishments in space. Highly successful human space programme, a space station in Earth orbit, a Lunar rover on the far side of the Moon and a soft landing of a rover on the surface of Mars. China sees the Artemis Accords as an instrument to sustain US dominance whilst undermining China’s space ambitions. All this whilst Russia’s space programme has experienced a significant decline resulting from the sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia may be associated with the heady days of Sputnik and Gagarin but now China has surpassed Russia and is second only to the USA. Whilst the Wolf Amendment remains, it is unlikely in the short term that China will join and thus prevent the Artemis Accords from being adopted as a near-global framework for responsible behaviours in space.

Just as in Star Trek, the Khitomer Accords of 2293 were followed by the Second Khitomer Accords in 2375. So as the Artemis Accords attain wider engagement, they will evolve over time too.

That the Artemis Accords is a product of one country, the USA is its major drawback. To succeed in its ambition to be a global “common set of principles to govern the exploration and use of space” the Artemis Accords require an internationally inclusive appeal. In a decade or two when the Artemis programme exists only in the rear-view mirror of space history, the Artemis Accords could finally become the global governance framework for all nations exploring and exploiting space beyond Earth orbit. The content could remain substantially unchanged but politically transformed with a new name and placed under the auspices of the United Nations.