Author Topic: Indian Commercial Crew Dragon mission to ISS?  (Read 8158 times)

Offline PM3

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Indian Commercial Crew Dragon mission to ISS?
« on: 03/08/2019 09:33 pm »
Statement by former NASA administrator Charles Bolden, made today at some space conference in New Delhi:

Quote
Isro and Nasa can work out a joint mission to ISS for bio-medical research. If both agencies agree on the mission and work out the cost-sharing deal for the programme, Nasa will contract a space vehicle from Space X for the mission. The joint collaboration is possible.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/isro-with-nasas-help-can-send-astronauts-to-iss-us-space-envoy/articleshow/68325786.cms

Just another glimpse of the new opportunites that were initiated by the successful Crew Dragon demo. Half a year ago, they were talking about buying one Soyuz seat. Now it's about chartering a Crew Dragon. :)
« Last Edit: 03/08/2019 09:35 pm by PM3 »
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Offline Lar

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Re: Indian Commercial Crew Dragon mission to ISS?
« Reply #1 on: 03/08/2019 11:10 pm »
Well spotted. Reality is changing before our eyes. It's been a long time coming.

But is Bolden authorised to make offers? or just speculating about what might be possible? I think the latter. That's ok, still cool news.
"I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact." -Elon Musk
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Offline Joffan

Re: Indian Commercial Crew Dragon mission to ISS?
« Reply #2 on: 03/09/2019 12:05 am »
Bolden is recognized by the State Department as a US Science Envoy for Space. https://www.state.gov/e/oes/stc/scienceenvoy/ So he's probably doing a bit more than just stating a personal opinion, even if it isn't yet a firm arrangement.

I think the journalist might be a little ahead of the speculation, though; I doubt Bolden was talking about much more than swapping an Indian astronaut into a seat that would otherwise be occupied by a US astronaut, although certainly if NASA can gather the courage they could pay for an extra seat in a commercial-crew ride.

Makes me wonder how many astronauts ISRO would put aboard if they had a whole Dragon to themselves...
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Offline yg1968

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Re: Indian Commercial Crew Dragon mission to ISS?
« Reply #3 on: 03/09/2019 04:30 pm »
There was talk at a recent NAC meeting of NASA allowing commercial companies to rent out the 5th seat on ISS flights (but not more than that).
« Last Edit: 03/09/2019 04:31 pm by yg1968 »

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Indian Commercial Crew Dragon mission to ISS?
« Reply #4 on: 03/09/2019 05:48 pm »
Boeing have also talked about selling seats on Starliner to ISS. I don't see NASA approving of public tourism to ISS. But I can see case for allowing other countries to buy rides to ISS for their astronauts. Other benefit is extra trained crew would improving ISS productivity at no cost to NASA.

If demand is there may endup flying 5-6 crew on regular basis.








Offline Vahe231991

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Re: Indian Commercial Crew Dragon mission to ISS?
« Reply #5 on: 08/19/2023 07:14 pm »
The forthcoming Gaganyaan manned spacecraft is not optimized for docking to the ISS and Voyager Space announced last month that it had partnered with India to have the Gaganyaan dock with the proposed Starlab space station.

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Voyager Space deepens India ties for commercial space station plans

Jason Rainbow
July 10, 2023

TAMPA, Fla. — Voyager Space is considering using India’s proposed Gaganyaan crewed spacecraft to serve the commercial space station it aims to be operating by the end of the decade.

The Denver-based space technology provider announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) July 10 with India to explore using Gaganyaan, among other potential collaborations to deepen ties with the country’s space industry.

The MoU paves the way to other partnerships across exploration, research, and commercial activities, Voyager chief revenue officer Clay Mowry said.

India expects to perform Gaganyaan’s first crewed flight no earlier than 2025 following delays that have pushed out its schedule by at least three years.

The MoU with India is Voyager’s first with a crewed spacecraft provider outside the United States, Mowry told SpaceNews.

He said Voyager is working with multiple undisclosed providers to supply crew and cargo services for Starlab, which would use a standard docking system aiming to be compatible with various spacecraft.

“We are targeting our single-launch configuration to be operational in 2028,” he added.

https://spacenews.com/voyager-space-deepens-india-ties-for-commercial-space-station-plans/ [from July 10, 2023]

Tags: gaganyaan starlab 
 

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