ISRO mulls plan to offer data support to ASEAN nations

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a proposal announced in 2010 by the Indian Government to support the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries with crucial data from India’s remote sensing satellites, according to an official statement on April 5th. Besides receiving and processing data from the Indian remote sensing satellites RESOURCESAT-2 and OCEANSAT-2, the ASEAN states will also receive training in space science, technology and applications. The 10 ASEAN member states – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – stand to gain immensely from this partnership. India pursues cooperation in peaceful usages of space technology with space agencies of 43 nations and five multilateral bodies.

India’s state-run space agency also keeps developing new products and services, jointly with partnering agencies, through joint missions, scientific instruments accommodation, data sharing and exchange of expertise. ISRO has launched the ‘South Asia Satellite’ in May 2017 to provide satellite communication services to individual South Asian nations and also across the region. To boost ties, India is a member of a number of international and regional organisations to promote space cooperation to provide timely aid and help create business opportunities. To support such projects, ISRO has launched eight communication satellites, seven navigational satellite, five remote sensing satellite, two meteorological satellite, one science satellite and nine technology demonstration and student satellites over the last five years.

Concurrently, ISRO has carried out 17 rocket launches over the past three years – five launches (four PSLV and one GSLV) in 2015; seven launches (six PSLV and one GSLV) in 2016; five launches (three PSLV, one GSLV and one GSLV Mk-III) in 2017. During this time, ISRO helped launch a total of 169 foreign satellites from 23 countries, backed by a 38 per cent increase in the agency’s budget allocation. Last year, ISRO launched 104 satellites in a single mission, thus setting a world record. The agency has also gained fame for its record-low launch expenses. Meanwhile, the total number of missions for the coming three years – 2018-2020 – has been pegged at 57 (26 launch vehicle missions and 31 satellite missions). In 2018, four missions (one launch vehicle mission and three satellite missions) have already been completed till date.