Bhargavi PBA
The PSLV-C59/Proba-3 mission launched on December 5, 2024, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, carrying the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 missionCredit: Facebook/ ISRO
On August 23, National Space Day 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would soon establish its own flagship national space station, unveiling a model of the previously-announced Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), with the launch of the first module scheduled for 2028. Simultaneously, Modi also encouraged Indian startups to develop five space-tech unicorns within five years and increase the number of rocket launches to 50 annually, endorsing increased industrialization in the Indian space economy.
Meanwhile, in June 2023, India joined the Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led coalition focused on lunar exploration and cislunar governance. This decision grants India access to NASA partnerships, advanced space technologies, and an enhanced global presence. However, the unveiling of the BAS indicates that India aims to balance U.S. alignment with its own strategic autonomy, creating a paradox in India’s current space diplomacy efforts.
Is it possible for India to develop its own space station while participating in the Artemis Accords and leveraging advanced technology and market access? Can India maintain its neutrality amid the China-U.S. rivalry? How sustainable is this balance, given India’s constraints of finances, talent, and technology?
From Nonalignment to Pragmatic Hedging
India’s dual approach to space diplomacy is deeply rooted in its Cold War-era foreign policy. During this period, India adhered to a policy of nonalignment, refraining from siding directly with either the United States or the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, India sought to acquire crucial space technology from various sources, which significantly influenced its early space policy.
Under the guise of scientific cooperation, India collaborated with the USSR to launch its first satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975, and later for the Soyuz T-11 mission, which took astronaut Rakesh Sharma to the Salyut-7 space station. However, in the 1990s, following U.S. sanctions over alleged weapons proliferation, India began adopting self-reliant policies, developing indigenous technologies such as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Concurrently, liberalization allowed for selective engagement with the U.S. and European nations. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) cooperation with NASA expanded in the 2000s; notably, the Chandrayaan-1 Mission in 2008 included U.S. technologies that aided in detecting lunar water.
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