Russia and India Cooperating in Space

Roskosmos, the Russian federal space agency, is now working with India on the Chandrayaan-2 lunar mission, which is planned for 2011-2012. ISRO will be developing a new space launch vehicle, the GSLV-Mark III, for the mission, while Roskosmos will provide a lunar landing craft.

In December 2008, Russia and India signed an agreement to cooperate in manned spaceflights. Russia is now assisting India with preparing its first manned spaceflight, scheduled for 2015. During this mission, two people will orbit the Earth at a height of about 275 kilometers for a week.

Nair says that India now wishes to work with Russia to develop less expensive, reusable spacecraft. He said that Indian-Russian space cooperation began in 1962, when Soviet meteorological rockets were launched from Kerala, while the Soviets provided tracking support for the first Indian satellites.