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\t\t\t\t\t\t12\/12\/2024<\/span> On 4 December 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed an agreement that will see ESA provide ground station support to the missions in ISRO\u2019s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gaganyaan is India\u2019s first human spaceflight programme. It currently consists of three planned missions: two uncrewed missions followed by one crewed mission. ESA will support all three missions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Network Operations Centre at ESA\u2019s\u00a0ESOC\u00a0mission control centre in Germany will coordinate a series of radio antennas in the global European Space Tracking network (Estrack) that will enable\u00a0ISRO to track, monitor and command the Gaganyaan crew module throughout each mission,\u201d said Octave Procope-Mamert, Head of Ground Facility Operations at ESA.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The first Gaganyaan mission, currently foreseen for 2025, will be supported by ESA\u2019s 15 m antenna in\u00a0Kourou, French Guiana.<\/p>\n Following missions will also be supported by antennas owned by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), all linked via ESOC.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A suitcase-sized model of the Gaganyaan radio equipment will soon arrive at ESOC in Germany for radio frequency compatibility testing at the site\u2019s Ground Segment Reference Facility. The compatibility tests will ensure that the spacecraft\u2019s radio transmitter and receiver can effectively communicate with ESA\u2019s antenna in Kourou.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ESA and ISRO have a long history of spaceflight cooperation. Recent highlights include ESA\u2019s support to ISRO\u2019s\u00a0Chandrayaan-3\u00a0Moon mission in 2023.<\/p>\n ESA\u2019s ground stations are also downlinking the bulk of the data gathered by ISRO\u2019s\u00a0Aditya-L1\u00a0solar observatory throughout its mission to study the Sun and the origins of space weather.<\/p>\n ISRO, meanwhile, recently oversaw the launch of ESA\u2019s Proba-3 mission, the third mission of the Proba series to be launched from India.<\/p>\n The two space agencies are committed to deepening this collaboration in the future, with ESA\u2019s support to ISRO\u2019s human spaceflight programme seen as a significant step forward.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t139<\/span> views<\/small><\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4<\/span> likes<\/small><\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\nScope of the support<\/h2>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nNext steps<\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n