Although the International Space Station (ISS) is supported by 15 countries, India as well as China are not on the list and the incoming European Space Agency (ESA) chief wants to change that. Johann-Dietrich Woerner who serves as the administrator of the German Aerospace Center, will be replacing Jean-Jacques Dordain to become the new Director General of ESA on July 1 next month.
India has been making many amazing strides in the direction of space exploration, the Mar Orbiter Mission being one of its chief triumphs in recent years. It looks like it is now ready to join the lineup of nations ferrying astronauts to the ISS. But it’s not clear if the participating members would be too willing to extend a welcoming hand towards China for various reasons.
The US has a law from 2011 in place which prevents NASA from having any contact with those in the Chinese space program owing to national security fears. This mandate is based on a study which reports that China thinks space power will not just add to its progress in science and technology, but also military strength. So the country cannot be invited to board the ISS.
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Woerner told a German magazine (Spiegel) that the agencies participating in the $100 billion program should stop thinking of the venture as a ‘closed club’, says The Times of India (via Reuters). The ISS presently has the funds needed to keep it running until 2020. It’s not certain if the ISS will continue to be financed into 2024 since NASA’s yearly cost of operating it is too high at $3 billion.
India may be approached to join the ISS program once Woerner takes over as chief of the ESA. But the situation does not look good for China which is also a major economic threat to the US.