India's political leadership attaches great importance to the successful implementation of the national space program. It sees this program as an integral part of achieving India's status as one of the world's leading powers in the field of high-tech technologies.

Space exploration in India began in 1947, immediately after the country's independence. They are carried out under the direction of the Government Department of Space Research. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), established in 1962, is responsible for coordinating the activities of various organizations and structures within the framework of the national space program, as well as for the development of rocket and space technology.

India was recognized as a space power in 1963 , after a research rocket was launched from the equatorial test site in Thumba, Kerala, to probe the Earth.

Even 7 - 10 years ago, India played a very modest role in the space arena. Today, we can say that India has joined the ranks of the leading space powers. India sells satellite platforms to leading Western countries, is actively exploring the Solar System, has captured the global market for remote sensing data, has mastered the technology for creating intercontinental ballistic missiles, and is going to take a dominant position in the market for launching payloads into orbit. At the same time, New Delhi is stepping up work aimed at ensuring independence in the creation and launch of satellites of all classes, manned spacecraft, as well as the introduction of space technologies in various sectors of the economy.

The authors of the Indian space program believe that it is necessary to implement not only its fundamental component, but also its applied, commercial direction. After all, the government is not able to fully meet the financial needs of the industry. In this regard, to attract extra-budgetary funds, India is actively developing programs for commercial launches of artificial Earth satellites. Local experts expect that this will allow the country to win up to 10% of the international market for commercial space launches (in particular, satellites weighing more than 2 tons) in the next 5 years.

Over the past few decades, India has established a broad base for space exploration. Its center is located in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka. There is also a complex for creating scientific artificial satellites of the Earth. Rabo is heading from Bangalore-

ta of space research centers in the following years: Thumbe, Sriharikot (Andhra Pradesh) and Ahmedabad (Gujarat).

In total, about $ 0.84 billion was allocated for the country's space program in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. In terms of funding for civil space activities, India ranks 7th among the leading space countries (agencies) in the world after the United States ($18.82 billion). The European Space Agency ($3.57 billion), China ($2.5 billion), Japan ($1.91 billion), France ($1.82 billion) and Russia ($1.34 billion). India's annual budget revenue from space activities is about $ 90 million.

Currently, India is one of the six countries in the world with special capabilities for launching artificial satellites, and occupies a leading place in the world in terms of the benefits that space technologies bring to the development of society.

The main principles in the development of the space industry, largely borrowed from the USSR, are systematic, planned and consistent in the implementation of the space program. In the 11th five-year plan (2007-2012), which began in 2007 India plans to manufacture and launch 11 satellites with remote sensing equipment. Russia has only one operational satellite of this class.

LUNAR MISSION

India launched the Chandrayan-1 lunar probe into space in October 2008. It was India's first launch of a spacecraft beyond Earth's orbit. The probe safely reached the lunar orbit and began a scientific program to study its surface. At the same time, India is preparing for the second stage of the lunar mission with the landing of a lunar rover on the lunar surface. It is assumed that this lunar rover will be built with the participation of the Russian side.

In addition, the Government of India has allocated about $ 20 million for pre-project work on the manned space mission. ISRO is negotiating cooperation in this area with Roscosmos. According to a preliminary agreement, Russia and India will jointly modernize the Soyuz spacecraft to launch an Indian cosmonaut to the ISS as part of a Russian crew, which will take place, approximately, in 2013.Roscosmos will also assist India in creating an Indian manned spacecraft and an astronaut training center. India plans its first independent manned launch in 2015.

Russia and India have intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in the use of the Russian global navigation satellite system GLONASS. The documents provide for providing the Indian side with access to GLONASS navigation signals for peaceful purposes and to a part of the radio frequency spectrum of the system. At the same time, Moscow and Delhi agreed to launch GLONASS-M satellites with the help of Indian launch vehicles and create a new generation of navigation satellites.

Indian scientists have also started developing a Mars exploration program with the possibility of conducting scientific experiments on the planet, and programs are also being developed for more distant flights - to Saturn and asteroids.

Today, India has two types of launch vehicles: a launch vehicle for launching artificial satellites with remote sensing coordinates weighing 1300 kg and a geostationary launch vehicle for launching communication artificial satellites weighing 2000 kg.

In order to reduce the cost of delivering payloads to orbit, more and more attention is being paid to the problems of creating promising reusable space transport systems (MCTS). In 2007, a successful experiment was conducted with the return capsule SRE1, which was in orbit for 12 days. During the descent from orbit and return of SRE1 to Earth, Indian specialists collected data on the thermal insulation coating they developed, how to navigate and control the device, which will be used in the construction of future reusable space systems.

Currently, the Space Center named after him. Vikram Sarabhai is developing a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). According to experts, the operation of the MCTS will allow reducing the cost of launching a payload into orbit by an order of magnitude from 12-15 thousand to 1200-1500 dollars per kilogram. The works are currently in the design stage. The first flight of the RLV prototype is expected to take place in 2010-2011. Bench tests of the "semi-cryogenic" engine for this type of ship, which uses oxygen and hydrocarbon fuel, have already begun. The carrier will have two stages. According to the project, the first stage of the RLV will be equipped with a wing, it will be able to rise to an altitude of up to 100 km, return to the atmosphere and land on the runway. The second stage will launch the payload into orbit and land on water or land.

Among the new space ap-

paratov - the first Indian satellites with C - and X-band radars, the TWSAT educational microsatellite with medium-resolution optical cameras, the Resourcesat-2, Oceansat-2 and Insat-3D satellites for maintaining the already deployed space group, the previously mentioned first Indian lunar probe Chandrayan-1, a joint French-Indian satellite Meghatropique, as well as two experimental devices with ultra-high resolution equipment. It should be noted that today India supports 7 active satellites in polar orbits - the second largest grouping of Earth survey satellites after the United States.

In the longer term (2009-2015), India plans to launch a satellite with a hyperspectral camera, a device for geostationary orbit for rapid detailed survey of the Earth (with a resolution of up to 60 meters), a second lunar probe Chandrayan-2, radar and optical devices.

HELP FOR FARMERS AND FISHERMEN

It should be noted that the pursuit of increasing the number of satellites in orbit for Delhi is not an end in itself. Unlike Russia, India has developed a market for space services, and the results of space activities are actively implemented in the daily activities of central and state authorities, regional administrations, and industrial companies.

For example, in India, according to satellite imagery, crops are fairly accurately predicted, satellite monitoring of desertification processes is conducted, and the effectiveness of measures to combat land degradation is monitored. Operational satellite imagery of fishing areas can reduce the search time for schools of fish by 30 to 70%.

The search for potential areas with aquifers is conducted today based on data from space - 200 thousand wells have already been drilled with a 90% probability of success. Environmental monitoring of the state of the water and air environment, the state of forests is carried out, and problems of detecting fires from space are solved.

Along with the civilian side, India also plans to develop the military component of its space program. In the country's military circles, there are increasingly calls for launching military satellites into low-Earth orbit, the need for which is motivated by national security issues, especially in the context of the aggravation of the situation in the region.

In order to gain the necessary experience in the field of space exploration, India, along with Russia, practices broad cooperation with other advanced space powers. In particular, India is working closely with the European Space Agency (ESA) and even won a competition to build and launch communications satellites for Europe last year. And the U.S. government has granted Boeing a license to set up a joint venture with the Indian Space Research Agency to develop and manufacture a communications satellite. In addition, India and Israel signed a contract to launch several satellites into low-Earth orbit, including a reconnaissance satellite.

According to local scientific and technical circles, Indian industry has the basic technical capabilities to implement a space exploration program and in the future can seriously compete with recognized world leaders in this field, including Russia.

At the same time, the country's leadership believes that the implementation of the national space program requires longer terms and amounts of funding than those announced by ISRO. At present, given the global financial crisis, India will not be able to afford to divert the necessary material and intellectual resources from other sectors of the economy to long-term space projects, such as the creation of its own orbital station, landing on the moon and the possible creation of a lunar base.

In this regard, New Delhi looks forward to actively using and further developing bilateral agreements in the field of space exploration with foreign partners. First of all, the Indian side is expected to show increased interest in the Russian experience in manned flight operations.

Permanent link to this publication: