Suhasini Haidar, writing for The Hindu, talks about the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to France. A key paragraph to highlight in the article:
India and France are also hoping to strengthen ties over collaboration in space that dates back to the 1960s. Apart from collaborations in launching satellites, the two sides are also looking at training astronauts and partnerships in space industrial engineering, it is learnt.
Haidar, Suhasini. “Co-Development Rather than Co-Production Will Be Focus of India-France Ties, Sources Say.” The Hindu, 6 July 2023
France provided inputs on solid fuel technology to ISRO with the Centaures rocket in the 1970s. Working together on the Viking liquid engine, under an arrangement with the European Society for Propulsion (SEP), provided valuable inputs to develop India’s workhorse Vikas engine in the 1980s. The French helped in setting up the Liquid Propulsion Systems Center (LPSC) at Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.
Arianespace has provided launch service for various Indian communication satellites, as India struggled with mastering cryogenic technology. ISRO and CNES has worked together on two satellites related to climate studies, Megha-Tropiques and SARAL. A future collaborative mission, Trishna, is slated for launch in 2024.
India and France can play an important role in space science. I would love to see a continuation of co-operation of Earth observation satellites that are built to study Earth’s climatic systems. I believe that collaboration with France particularly with the mission to Venus would be a shot in the arm for the Indian Venus Mission, called Shukrayaan. France has experience with working on the Vega missions with the Soviet Union.
The study of Mars is a rosy colonization dream today. The study of Venus provides an understanding of where the Earth could be headed because of global warming and climate change. I think there must be as many if not more missions to Venus as there are missions to Mars today.
France is also a signatory of the Artemis Accords, and along with Australia is trying to look for an international arrangements to govern access to and resources on the Moon. This is an essential middle path that India must try to support. Global supply chains are important to keep mission costs low.
India must try to book cheaper slots on the Ariane 6. There is a 6 ton and higher category of satellites that Indian launch vehicles can currently not support. India must also try to get more French companies to try to fly on Indian launch vehicles. There could be an opportunity coming up during the period of transition between Ariane V and Ariane 6.
At the industry level, I believe there are opportunities to collaborate in data sharing and data analysis. Indian space startups could try to provide satellite, satellite sub-systems, and propulsion systems to French startups.
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