Our Bureau
New Delhi/Washington
The US is open to collaborating with India in building its own space station, said National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Bill Nelson. Nelson arrived on a visit to India and shared that the US and India were working on plans to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station by the end of next year.
“We expect by that time to have a commercial space station. I think India wants to have a commercial space station by 2040. If India wants us to collaborate with them, of course, we will be available. But that’s up to India,” Nelson said.
“The selection of astronaut is determined by ISRO. NASA will not make the selection,” Nelson told. In response to a question, he said the US would be ready to collaborate with India in building the space station if it so desires.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked ISRO to aim to build an Indian space station by 2035 and land astronauts on the moon by 2040.
He met Sh Jitendra Singh, Science and Technology Minister and is scheduled to visit Mumbai for a meeting with business leaders in the space sector. He is scheduled to visit the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru and meet Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma.