French Space Agency CNES To Collaborate With ISRO For Indian Space Station Project     

French national space agency National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) will collaborate with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the organisation’s planned space station project, reports New Indian Express.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is right now working on its maiden human space voyage Gaganyaan project and pilots of IAF have already left for Russia for 11-month long astronaut training program.

A CNES official, speaking on behalf of the president of CNES, Jean-Yves Le Gall, told The New Indian Express that, “French and European partners can bring the skills they have acquired in developing and operating systems and dedicated infrastructure for long-term six-month flights of European astronauts on the ISS,”

While reiterating support for the Gaganyaan missions, Gall termed it as "the first step towards future collaboration on the development of India’s planned space station".

CNES plans to extend all its facilities to ISRO to ensure its first manned space flight is a success. Also teams of CNES and ISRO have finalised drafting the agreement between the two space agencies where French experts are likely to provide training to Indian astronauts in the future.

CNES will also provide India life support systems that astronauts will wear during Gaganyaan mission along with other critical components to ensure pilot safety. Also Flight surgeons from the IAF will be trained on space medicine.

In the coming months, France will train Indian physicians and engineers involved in Gaganyaan at their MEDES space medicine and physiology institute in Toulouse and by the teams at ESA’s astronaut training centre in Cologne.