India and Russia step up space cooperation

HYDERABAD: With joint plans for new satellites, manned space flights and missions to the moon, India and Russia are entering a new phase of bilateral cooperation in space.

The chiefs of the space agencies in the two countries met during a global conference here last week to decide on a road map for future missions.

"We discussed programmes with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)," Anatoly Perminov, Head of Russian space agency, Roscosmos, told on the margins of the International Astronautical Congress here.

Perminov met ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair on cooperation between India and Russia in areas like Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass-M and Glonass-K), manned space flights and joint participation in the lunar mission.

An ISRO team is scheduled to meet a Roscosmos team in mid-November at Krasnoyarsk, Russia, to finalise decisions on the launch of the Glonass-M version of the satellite that has improved antennas and a separate transmission frequency dedicated to civilian users, officials said.

The two sides will also start discussions on India's participation in the Glonass-K project -- lighter, and smaller satellites with an extended service life -- that costs less to launch. The plan will be finalised by year-end, Perminov added.

The first launch is expected in 2009.

Talks will focus on manned flights and the role of ISRO in Russia's long-term space development programme (up to 2040) will be confirmed by the end of this year, said the Russian official.

An agreement to undertake a joint lunar programme will also be discussed. It is likely that India will provide a booster rocket and a lunar orbital module and Russia will provide the mobile laboratory for the lunar exploration project -- Luna Glob -- scheduled for launch in 2012.

Meanwhile, the joint Indo-Russian Youthsat satellite, for which an agreement was signed during President Putin's visit to India in January 2007, is expected to be launched in March 2008, officials said.

"Russia pays serious attention to this programme because of the opportunity it provides to involve young specialists and students both from Russia and India into the bilateral and international space programmes," commented Perminov.