U.S. & India to Extend Cooperation to CLPS Program, Train Indian Astronaut in Houston
The Biden Administration has announced that the United States and India will expand cooperation in space to include the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program under which NASA pays companies to deliver payloads to the moon. An Indian astronaut will also undergo spaceflight training at the space agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The steps were announced as part a wide-ranging expansion of cooperation on critical and emerging technologies between the two nations.
The two nations have committed to “identifying innovative approaches for the commercial sectors of the two countries to collaborate, especially with respect to activities related to NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) project. Within the next year, NASA, with ISRO, will convene U.S. CLPS companies and Indian aerospace companies to advance this initiative,” according to a White House fact sheet.
NASA has awarded CLPS contracts to Astrobotic Technology, Deep Space Systems, Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines to deliver payloads to the moon. Companies are responsible for building the landers and procuring launches on a fixed-priced contract basis.
It’s not clear exactly how involved Indian space companies would be in the CLPS program under the agreement.
India and the United States also committed to “strengthening cooperation on human spaceflight, including establishing exchanges that will include advanced training for an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)/Department of Space astronaut at NASA Johnson Space Center,” the announcement added.
ISRO is developing an independent spaceflight program under its Gaganyaan program. An uncrewed orbital flight test of the vehicle is scheduled for 2024, followed by a test with astronauts.
This would mark the first time NASA has provided human spaceflight training to India. A small group of Indian astronauts has previous undergone training in Russia.
The training could eventually lead to a flight by an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station on a NASA funded flight. That flight could be aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon or a Boeing Starliner spacecraft under the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra also committed the nations to “strengthening the bilateral commercial space partnership, including through a new U.S. Department of Commerce and Indian Department of Space-led initiative under the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group. This initiative will foster U.S.-India commercial space engagement and enable growth and partnerships between U.S. and Indian commercial space sectors.”
Other steps by the two nations include:
- initiating new STEM talent exchanges by expanding the Professional Engineer and Scientist Exchange Program (PESEP) to include space science, Earth science, and human spaceflight,
- extending a standing invitation to ISRO to participate in NASA’s biannual International Program Management Course,
- welcoming the visit this week by the ISRO Chairman S. Somanath to the United States, as well as a visit to India by the NASA Administrator Bill Nelson later this year, and
- expanding the agenda of the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group to include planetary defense.
12 responses to “U.S. & India to Extend Cooperation to CLPS Program, Train Indian Astronaut in Houston”
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Not a big fan of the Biden Administration. But I’ll give them a bunch of credit for this move. I just wouldn’t want to see the Russians get their bloody hands on anything sensitive through India’s back door.
Like buying its latest rounds of heavy weapons from South Korea, I think this is just another of India’s moves to ready itself for what will shortly be a substantially Russia-free world. India has nothing to gain by sharing anything with what is already a rapidly-fading nation.
South Korea? Wow..
Yep. The Indian President and Defense Minister were both on the dock to welcome the first of many South Korean freighters that will be bringing in the new main battle tanks and artillery pieces India has bought from the ROK.
Wonderful…
That’s why I said back door. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Russia still has some friends inside the Indian government. Or at least some stooges who could be bought.
I can’t imagine training an Indian astronaut to fly Commercial Crew to the ISS is going to leak anything more through India’s back door than is already coming through Russia’s front door with Cosmonauts getting the same training. I similarly have a hard time imagining that CLPS payload requirement specs are going to be any bit of a game changer in Russian hands.
I guess that my imagination runs a little more wild than yours does 😉
I can’t fault you for a big imagination.
Great to see this. Congress has for too long kept NASA from having more contacts with ISRO because of their close relationship with Russia. Now with Russia becoming an international pariah. maybe we can have a closer relationship in space without Congress constantly worrying that they just want to steal our tech and send it to Moscow.
What prohibitions did congress put in place that were preventing NASA/ISRO cooperation, and when/how were they lifted to allow involvement in CLPS and astronaut training?
Gary,
India should, indeed, be the fourth nation to Earth orbit by mid-decade. But it might also be the second nation to make lunar fly-bys. The PRC is closer to having that capability just now, but is also facing collapse, perhaps before it has a chance to try lunar visits of any kind.