- France and India view each other as important partners in space technology and applications.
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and its French counterpart Centre National de Etudes Spatiales (CNES) have a rich history of cooperation and collaboration spanning more than six decades.
- The cooperation started with the setting up of sounding rocket launching facilities at Thumba (India) in the early 1960s and progressed to various areas of space activities in the coming years.
Bangalore, June 10. ISRO and CNES worked as equal partners in the realization of two joint satellites. The Megha Tropiques satellite for monitoring tropical atmosphere was launched in late 2011 and the Satellite for ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL) was launched in 2013.
Both these satellites were launched using India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). These satellites continue to provide useful data for atmosphere monitoring, environment monitoring and ocean surface topography. Cooperation in space was one of the highlights of the visit of the Prime Minister of IndiaNarendraModito France in April 2015 with the following events:
- Joint ISRO-CNES Exhibition: A joint ISRO-CNES exhibition was held at CNES Headquarters (Paris) to mark the completion of 50 Years of Cooperation in Space.
- Signing of MoUs: Two MoUs and a program for reinforced cooperation on Space was signed and exchanged between the two sides as part of the visit.
- Release of Stamps: Two stamps carrying images of jointly developed satellites – MeghaTropiques and SARAL, were released during the visit.
- Visit to CNES, Toulouse: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visited CNES facilities at Toulouse and was updated on the bilateral cooperation activities.
A vision document, detailing the areas of cooperation in the future was released during the visit of French President to India in March 2018. The vision document addresses the following:
Bringing societal benefits of space technology, Imaging Earth in high resolution, Space domain and situational awareness, addressing the global challenges including climate change, cooperation in satellite navigation and related technologies, exploring the solar system and beyond, cooperation on Space Transportation Systems, developing technologies for human exploration of the universe
ISRO and CNES are closely working on a number of cooperative programs on earth observation, space geodesy, human spaceflight, future launch vehicle technologies, and planetary exploration.
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has launched 4 French satellites on commercial basis. Arianespace, France has been the major provider of launch services to Indian Geo-Stationary satellites. Subsequent to the launch of APPLE satellite on a co-operative mode in June 1981, 24 Geo-Stationary satellites of India have been launched by Arianespace on a commercial basis including the advanced Indian communications satellite GSAT-24 launched in June 2022. France has proven to be a reliable supplier for components, spares and equipment for the Indian Space Programme.
Continuing this legacy, the French Space Agency, CNES and ISRO held a meeting on 6th June 2023 at ISRO Headquarters in Bengaluru. The delegation was led in CNES side by the President Mr. Philippe Baptiste & in ISRO side by Chairman Somanath S. The meeting was aimed to explore potential areas of collaboration, share knowledge, and foster innovation in the field of space science and technology.
The teams enthusiastically recollected six decades of collaboration between ISRO & CNES and emphasised their deep committeemen to carry it forward and address the challenges and opportunities in the present space ecosystem. Ongoing and potential co-operations in human spaceflight, earth observation, space-based navigation, space situational awareness, propulsion technologies and the development of ground stations were discussed. The two agencies recognized the value of pooling resources, expertise, and infrastructure to accelerate progress. The evolution of space-based studies on climate monitoring and the involvement of all the space agencies for assimilation and analysis of the data was contemplated.
ISRO Chairman shared the re-defined mandate of ISRO to enable private players to accomplish operations missions while investing itself in basic research & development. He briefed on the positive outcomes emerging from Space sector reforms and the call upon increased participation of industries in France and the key role NSIL will play in this. He invited his counterpart and French industrialists for the G20 SELM scheduled in Bengaluru during next month.
