India, France could collaborate on making rocket engines, re-usable rockets: Director CNES to WION

Three out of four Indian rockets that are operational today are powered by an Indo-French rocket engine known as the Vikas engine, which is based on the French Viking engine. This engine, powered by hypergolic fuels (fuels that burn on coming in contact with each other) forms the core stage of India's PSLV, GSLV and LVM3 rockets.

Developed in the 1970s by an Indo-French team of scientists and engineers, this engine continues to power India's rockets, 30 years after it first flew.

As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on an official visit to France as the Guest of Honour for the French National Day (Bastille Day), this is seen as an opportunity to reinforce the close space sector ties between the two nations, Jean-Marc Astorg, Director of Strategy at the French Space Agency Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) told WION.

"We could start cooperation on rockets, on new engines for future rockets... In Europe, we operate Ariane-6 and Vega-C, whereas India operates the PSLV, GSLV and SSLV. Looking at the future, it is all about re-usability in rockets. We(ISRO-CNES) can work together on re-usability, new engines, new propulsion systems," Astorg told WION.

He reasoned that both India and France could jointly develop such new technologies and thereby share the cost burden, which is typically exorbitant. He envisions that such new technologies that are jointly developed can be put to use in both India and France.

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ISRO and the European Space Agency already have been using each other's rockets for launching certain crucial missions. Whenever ISRO plans to launch a satellite that weighs more than 4 tonnes into Geostationary orbits, the most reliable option for ISRO has been to launch on the European Space Agency's Ariane-5 rocket.

Operated by the French firm Arianespace, for the European Space Agency, the Ariane 5 rocket has been developed by CNES. Likewise, when smaller Indo-French collaborative satellites are launched, they are lofted into space by Indian PSLV rockets. Examples of such missions are the Megha-Tropiques satellite, SARAL (Satellite with Argos and Altika), etc.

The French space agency CNES will also be supporting ISRO in its endeavour to fly Indian astronauts to space, a mission dubbed as 'Gaganyaan'. Tapping into its legacy and experience of performing astronaut missions for more than three decades, the French Government-run space agency would be offering guidance to Indian astronauts.

"We are very impressed India's Gaganyaan project. What India is doing to man-rate the LVM3 rocket, develop the space capsule, escape system etc is very impressive. We are a small part of this. We are sharing our expertise on the space medicine aspect. Astronauts have a medical training; we have a long experience in that as we did our first manned space flight in 1992," Astorg told WION.

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