Takshashila Discussion Document - Human Spaceflight: Indian Goals & Global Ambitions
Published on November 21, 2023.
Executive Summary:
There is renewed interest in human spaceflight around the world. This is being driven by both higher government spending and greater private sector dynamism. This is evident in plans to commercialise low Earth orbit habitation and the US-led Artemis lunar exploration programme.
Space exploration remains a high-risk venture for both technical and commercial reasons. While private sector actors are still working out their business models, they are already changing the way states approach lunar exploration.
India has laid out its ambition to operate a space station by 2035 and send an Indian to the Moon by 2040. To achieve these goals, India will need to move away from its traditional approaches and seek out international cooperation and commercial opportunities more actively.
India must embed ISRO programmes such as the Gaganyaan human spaceflight project into the effort to build a commercially sustainable low-Earth orbit economy. It must also join the Artemis lunar exploration programme to accelerate its journey to putting a person on the Moon.
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