Glavkosmos, a subsidiary company of Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos, has signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to provide life support and spacecraft thermal technologies for the Indian Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.
The agreement further bolsters Russian involvement in the Gaganyaan programme, with Roscosmos already involved in the selection and training of Indian astronauts for the first mission due to take place in December 2021.
Glavkosmos director-general Dmitry Loskutov signed the agreement with Unnikrishnan Nair, head of ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC), at a ceremony in Moscow at the end of October 2019.
The agreement covers GlavKosmos’ provision of life support systems for supplying air, food, water, and waste management to Indian astronauts, as well as the spacecraft’s thermal control system that will ensure that all components and systems are within nominal temperature ranges throughout the mission.
“We hope the signing of this document and the implementation of its provisions will serve both the development of the Indian space programme and manned space flights, and in general, strengthen Russian-Indian relations. We will be glad to expand our cooperation,” said Dmitry Loskutov.
ISRO’s Unnikrishnan Nair expressed his gratitude and stated his confidence that Russia and India will be reliable space partners in the years ahead.
The ISRO agreement with GlavKosmos will also see the participation of Russian space technology company RKK Energiya.
ISRO and Roscosmos signed an agreement in June 2019 where Roscosmos will help select, medically examine, and train Indian astronauts for the maiden Gaganyaan mission. Russian experts will then select and further train four Indian candidates out of the 12 individuals sent by India. It is believed that all selectees will drawn from the Indian Air Force.
