India and Other Maturing Asian Space Enthusiasts
By the end of 2013, hopes were higher than for many decades that the world was seriously heading towards developing an important constituent of international space regime in the form of an International Code of Conduct to address the challenges of space s
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India and Other Maturing Asian Space Enthusiasts Ajey Lele
9.1
Introduction
By the end of 2013, hopes were higher than for many decades that the world was seriously heading towards developing an important constituent of international space regime in the form of an International Code of Conduct to address the challenges of space security. Over the past few years the debate around a code of conduct has provided impetus for states to begin to understand and appreciate each other’s space programmes. It has also allowed developed states to realise the ambitions of smaller states in the space arena and provided them insight into how these states are overcoming the financial and technological challenges to realising their space dreams. To comprehend the interests of Asian states in space, this article analyses the space programme of one key player in the region, India, as well as the programmes of several other emerging space nations. For many years the use of outer space was “the domain of an exclusive few”. Today, having understood the importance of space technologies, many states are making investments in this field. Presently, there are three prominent states in Asia that have well-developed infrastructure in the space domain, namely, Japan, China and India. Of these, Japan and China became space-faring states in 1970 while India acquired this distinction in 1980. Table 9.1 presents a comprehensive overview of the status of the major Asian space nations. This chapter examines the space programmes of India and several smaller Asian states. In the last few years in particular, smaller and developing states in Asia have realised that space technologies can be of great assistance in resources management, communication, navigation, education and disaster management support. Hence, their keenness to invest in this area has multiplied. A. Lele (*) Dr. Ajey Lele is a Research Fellow at Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected] © Springer-Verlag Wien 2015 C. Al-Ekabi et al. (eds.), Yearbook on Space Policy 2012/2013, Yearbook on Space Policy, DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-1827-6_9
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Table 9.1 General overview of the major Asian space nations Country
Acquired space-faring status
No. of satellites
Approximate budget USD
Japan China India
1970 1970 1980
167 206 63
2,460 million 3,000 million estimated 1,320 million
Data in this table and all other tables is based on multiple web sources and presented to put the investments into perspective. The budget estimates are broad approximations and could vary from source to source
9.2
Exploring India’s Space Programme
In today’s global economy, the ability of a country to develop, adopt and harness its potential for innovation has become critical for its long-term economic performance. Most developing and emerging economies have adopted a proactive approach and policy towards innovation. India is no exception to this trend as the evolution of the Indian space programme can be attributed to India’s scientific c
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