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  • India's Space Program, Ambitions, and Activities
  • Namrata Goswami (bio)

The Indian space program is one of the most advanced among Asian spacefaring nations. India's demonstrated space capacities, both civilian and military, include missions to the Moon and Mars, Earth observation and navigation, anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons capability, and the ability to launch satellites into multiple orbits simultaneously. India came very close to landing near the lunar south pole with its Chandrayaan-2 mission in September 2019, but its Vikram lander malfunctioned at the last minute.1 On December 2, 2019, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera released details of the impact site and the associated debris field from the lander, just 2.1 kilometers short of its intended target.2 India has future missions planned for the Sun in 2021, the first Indian astronaut to low-earth orbit in 2022, a Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission in 2022–24 in collaboration with Japan, Mars in 2023, and Venus in 2023.3 Recently, India tested ASAT capabilities and has instituted changes in its military space institutions. The country is currently drafting a space activities bill to better regulate the space environment.

It is important to understand that India's grand strategy informs its space behavior. I define grand strategy as an ideational construct based on what states perceive as threats and opportunities in their strategic environment, and accordingly what means they devise to either defend or take advantage of these threats and opportunities. The country's grand strategy framework has changed since independence from British colonial rule in 1947: India has gone from being a state keenly aware of building its international reputation, upholding and crafting norms, joining international institutions, and resisting overt military broadcasting [End Page 43] of power to one that is an assertive economic and military power at the turn of the 21st century.4 Its military and political assertiveness was glimpsed when it tested nuclear weapons under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's National Democratic Alliance government in 1998, as well as in the constitutional change to Kashmir's status last year under a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by the current prime minister Narendra Modi.5 On both occasions, twenty years apart, a BJP-led India defied international outcry and defined its actions as being in the national interest.6 India's space activities and ambitions reflect both grand strategic continuity and change over decades. Given that, its investments in outer space serve two clear purposes: first, space capacities enhance national development goals; and, second, they showcase its technological capabilities and ambitions as a great power.

This essay analyzes India's space capacities (both civilian and military), the development of a new space sector, the growing conversation on space resources, and the need for space regulation. It also highlights changes in India's space policy and strategy over the years.

India's Space Capacity

Civilian and commercial

India's civilian space activities are steered by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), formed in August 1969. The country launched its first satellite, the Aryabhata, into orbit in 1975. It now operates 57 satellites, and in 2019 accounted for 6% of successful global launches (7 of 111) behind only China (38), the United States (29), and Russia (19), and the same number as Europe.7 The star of its launch vehicles is the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, followed by the [End Page 44] Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. For India, its edge in space capabilities comes from its low-cost missions,8 with ISRO chairperson Kailasavadivoo Sivan asserting that "our USP [unique selling proposition] is our cost-effectiveness."9 India can launch multiple payloads, including a record-breaking 104 satellites in a single launch in 2017 and another record of 29 satellites into three different orbits in 2019.10 In 2019, the country spent around $1.9 billion on its space program,11 with a relatively high return on investments based on the cost of manufacturing, logistics, and scientists' salaries compared to other national space programs. In contrast, the overall budget of NASA was $21.5 billion in 2019.12 A comparison of scientists' salaries at ISRO and NASA offers further insight. While an entry-level NASA...

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