TAMPA, Fla. — Voyager Space is considering using India’s proposed Gaganyaan crewed spacecraft to serve the business space station it goals to be operating by the top of the last decade.
The Denver-based space technology provider announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) July 10 with India to explore using Gaganyaan, amongst other potential collaborations to deepen ties with the country’s space industry.
The MoU paves the approach to other partnerships across exploration, research, and business activities, Voyager chief revenue officer Clay Mowry said.
India expects to perform Gaganyaan’s first crewed flight no sooner than 2025 following delays which have pushed out its schedule by at the very least three years.
The MoU with India is Voyager’s first with a crewed spacecraft provider outside the US, Mowry told .
He said Voyager is working with multiple undisclosed providers to provide crew and cargo services for Starlab, which might use a regular docking system aiming to be compatible with various spacecraft.
“We’re targeting our single-launch configuration to be operational in 2028,” he added.
India partnerships
Gaganyaan would launch to low Earth orbit on a version of India’s heavy-lift Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 3.
Voyager announced a separate MoU July 7 to explore launch and deployment opportunities for small satellites orbited by two smaller Indian rockets: The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or SSLV and PLSV.
Voyager’s customers have previously flown payloads on two PLSV missions, based on the corporate, which said the deal further expands their access to space.
The agreement also enables Voyager to check using space-qualified components from the recently created business arm of India’s space agency, covering spacecraft manufacturing, deployment, operations, and other areas of interest.
Voyager offers a broad range of space technologies following a series of acquisitions since being founded 4 years ago, starting from laser and radio frequency communications systems to mission-data transmitters and cameras.
The corporate announced its latest acquisition March 13 in a deal for engineering company ZIN Technologies, known for microgravity research equipment that Voyager said would support plans for its Starlab space station.
Under development in partnership with Lockheed Martin, Starlab is one in all three business concepts within the running to assist NASA transition from the aging International Space Station.
In January, Voyager said Airbus can be providing technical design support and expertise for the project, potentially making it easier for European governments to make use of Starlab.
Voyager’s partnerships in India come because the country relaxes regulatory rules over its business space sector and the involvement of foreign businesses.
During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the US, the 2 countries also announced plans to create a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation by the top of the 12 months. The plans include a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024 that has yet to be detailed.
Efforts to galvanize India’s space industry also include plans by the Indian Space Research Organization to auction off SSLV to the private sector, reported the country’s Economic Times July 9, citing an unnamed senior official on the space agency.
Able to carrying as much as 500 kilograms to mid-inclination low Earth orbits, SSLV is designed to be cheaper and more flexible than its two larger Indian cousins for deploying small payloads.
After failing to achieve orbit in its August debut, SSLV’s second flight successfully placed three satellites into low Earth orbit in February.