Research Viewpoint: India’s Human Spaceflight Program: Underlying Rationales

Abstract

ABSTRACT Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced support for a human spaceflight program during his 2018 Independence Day speech. The target year of 2022 is when India plans to realize its first indigenous human space mission. Human spaceflight is a high risk activity and in many ways unaffordable for a developing country. Moreover, India professes that space technology is best utilized for aiding socioeconomic development and not as a tool in geopolitical competition and prestige. By assessing relevant developments, this paper argues that a variety of concerns and ambitions compelled India to consider a human space mission. The main actors are India’s political and scientific leaders who found support for such a mission in response to China and international prestige factors. Indian political leaders also saw an opportunity for improving their domestic political image. Further, the Indian Space Research Organization views human space missions as providing a new raison d’etre to the organization and helping it retain a skilled workforce amidst industrialization of satellite and launch vehicle development.