India's ISRO will start talks in 2010 seeking partnership in the International Space Station (ISS) program. Photo Credit: NASAOctober 14, 2009, (Sawf News) - India's ISRO will start talks in 2010 seeking partnership in the International Space Station (ISS) program, reports Flight Global.
Current ISS partners are Canada, the European Space Agency, Japan, Russia and the USA.
South Korea too is similarly seeking ISS membership.
Both the countries announced their desire to join the program at the International Astronautical Congress in Daejeon, South Korea on October 12.
ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair told the plenary "we want to join."
India plans to contribute towards the maintenance of the ISS with its manned spacecraft, based on the Russian Soyuz, currently being developed under the human spaceflight program.
The modified Soyuz is scheduled for first flight in 2015 atop a GSLV II / GSLV III launcher that will lift off from a new (third) launch pad at ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota,
ISRO's concept is to accommodate two crew members, with an option for a third traveler, in a three ton capsule.
The spacecraft, which will feature a docking system that is compatible with the ISS, is being designed for a seven day mission, on completion of which it will splash down either in the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal.
China too could join the ISS program with its Shenzhou spacecraft, also based on the venerable Russian Soyuz.
ISS partners are currently committed to maintaining the space station in orbit till 2015. The original plan was to de-orbit the station in 2016. However, there is a proposal to extend the program to 2020 and beyond. The US will decide on the proposal in 2010 which is why India must wait till then to start partnership negotiations.
For more details on the Indian Human Spaceflight Program please see my knol on the subject.
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