Ajit Doval also held a call with the crew of the International Space Station
Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has been given a guided tour of Russia’s National Space Center while on a visit to Moscow for the International Security Forum.
Doval and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov visited the Roscosmos Joint Industry Information Center – established to monitor and analyze the massive data related to the rocket and space industry.
The center will also manage the proposed Russian Space Station (ROS). Ahead of the tour, Doval and Manturov were given a briefing on space technology.
The highlight of the visit was a live call the two senior officials held with the Russian crew of the International Space Station – Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Andrey Fedyaev, and Sergey Mikaev. The cosmonauts told the officials about their spacewalk on May 27.
India and Russia have partnered in the space sector since the early 1960s. In 1984, Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to travel to space aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. Russia is also working with India on its upcoming human spaceflight mission – Gaganyaan.
The two countries have also integrated their satellite navigation systems – NavIC and GLONASS.
The senior officials were also shown the world’s most powerful four-chamber liquid rocket engine, the ROS base module, and other exhibits at the center. Russia and India plan to boost space cooperation significantly, Dmitry Bakanov, the head of the Russian space agency (Roscosmos), said ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s trip to India in December 2025.
Last month, Russia celebrated the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first human flight in space.
At the inauguration of the Russian Space Forum, government officials, scientists, and investors from over 40 countries, including Russia, China and India, took part.
