Challenges and aim of Space research in Indi
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As an emerging nation with both vast developmental needs and profound security concerns, India has had to balance many requirements in its rapid advance as a new space power. While success in sending a satellite into orbit around Mars and a rover onto the moon has boosted the Indian space program's credentials, military planners are increasingly concerned about the vulnerabilities that India's reliance on satellites has created. In addition, China's controversial testing of an anti-satellite missile in 2007 has elevated the threat of a slow-moving arms race in space.
In this Q&A, NBR speaks with Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Senior Fellow and Head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, about the new security focus in India's space program and the country's primary strategic concerns in this domain. Dr. Rajagopalan also discusses the prospects for potential commercial actors in India's space sector and the role of foreign partners in the development of new technologies.
How has the Indian space program changed in the last decade? Is there a new focus on the military applications of space, and what brought about this shift in focus?
India's space program is several decades old and has been focused primarily on peaceful uses, with a number of scientific and technological applications including telemedicine, tele-education, disaster warning, search and rescue operations, mobile communications, and remote sensing and weather. Given that India is a country with huge developmental challenges, it is always tough to make an argument justifying allocations for space missions that do not have a direct bearing on development. That said, while military functions were not a focus of India's space program until about a decade ago, they have always been at the back of decision-makers' minds. Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first post-independence prime minister, and Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space program, understood the relevance of space to India in the national security domain from the program's inception. Nevertheless, India did not focus much on the security applications of outer space until 2007.
The wake-up call for India came when China conducted its first anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test in January 2007. The test clearly illustrated the challenges right in India's own neighborhood. Beijing came under a huge amount of criticism on two counts: one, for not announcing the test, and two, and more importantly, for creating long-lasting debris in low-earth orbit. While the test generated anger and public outcry, it did not result in any real punitive measures. The informal moratorium on ASAT tests, which had lasted for two and a half decades, was broken by the Chinese ASAT test. Thereafter, the United States tested an ASAT missile in 2008, which the international community was much more comfortable with because it was done openly and did not lead to the creation of long-lasting debris.
For India, however, China has been of particular concern. Beijing's activities in recent years have been driven by competition with the United States, so the capabilities it is developing are much more advanced than what are necessary to deter India. Nonetheless, India has to be mindful of Chinese advances. Following China's ASAT test, the scientific and technical communities and the Indian Air Force leadership, as well as sections of the political leadership, started debating whether India should be developing its own ASAT capability, and whether this capability should be demonstrated or simulated. India has a missile defense system under development, and the potential for India to acquire an ASAT capability is linked to its missile defense capabilities. The Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation has been developing missile defense capabilities independently but is also increasingly looking to partner with the United States and other countries. In contrast, China has followed the route of developing an ASAT capability first and later developing missile defense based on its ASAT capability.
As an emerging nation with both vast developmental needs and profound security concerns, India has had to balance many requirements in its rapid advance as a new space power. While success in sending a satellite into orbit around Mars and a rover onto the moon has boosted the Indian space program's credentials, military planners are increasingly concerned about the vulnerabilities that India's reliance on satellites has created. In addition, China's controversial testing of an anti-satellite missile in 2007 has elevated the threat of a slow-moving arms race in space.
In this Q&A, NBR speaks with Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Senior Fellow and Head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, about the new security focus in India's space program and the country's primary strategic concerns in this domain. Dr. Rajagopalan also discusses the prospects for potential commercial actors in India's space sector and the role of foreign partners in the development of new technologies.
How has the Indian space program changed in the last decade? Is there a new focus on the military applications of space, and what brought about this shift in focus?
India's space program is several decades old and has been focused primarily on peaceful uses, with a number of scientific and technological applications including telemedicine, tele-education, disaster warning, search and rescue operations, mobile communications, and remote sensing and weather. Given that India is a country with huge developmental challenges, it is always tough to make an argument justifying allocations for space missions that do not have a direct bearing on development. That said, while military functions were not a focus of India's space program until about a decade ago, they have always been at the back of decision-makers' minds. Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first post-independence prime minister, and Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space program, understood the relevance of space to India in the national security domain from the program's inception. Nevertheless, India did not focus much on the security applications of outer space until 2007.
The wake-up call for India came when China conducted its first anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test in January 2007. The test clearly illustrated the challenges right in India's own neighborhood. Beijing came under a huge amount of criticism on two counts: one, for not announcing the test, and two, and more importantly, for creating long-lasting debris in low-earth orbit. While the test generated anger and public outcry, it did not result in any real punitive measures. The informal moratorium on ASAT tests, which had lasted for two and a half decades, was broken by the Chinese ASAT test. Thereafter, the United States tested an ASAT missile in 2008, which the international community was much more comfortable with because it was done openly and did not lead to the creation of long-lasting debris.
For India, however, China has been of particular concern. Beijing's activities in recent years have been driven by competition with the United States, so the capabilities it is developing are much more advanced than what are necessary to deter India. Nonetheless, India has to be mindful of Chinese advances. Following China's ASAT test, the scientific and technical communities and the Indian Air Force leadership, as well as sections of the political leadership, started debating whether India should be developing its own ASAT capability, and whether this capability should be demonstrated or simulated. India has a missile defense system under development, and the potential for India to acquire an ASAT capability is linked to its missile defense capabilities. The Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation has been developing missile defense capabilities independently but is also increasingly looking to partner with the United States and other countries. In contrast, China has followed the route of developing an ASAT capability first and later developing missile defense based on its ASAT capability.
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