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ABSTRACT
Over the last five decades, India’s nuclear and space programs have gone through several phases, from collaboration to divorce to supportive. An interplay of two factors determined the nature of the relationship. One was the state of India’s nuclear-weapon program. The second was international conditions, especially India’s relationship with the nuclear-nonproliferation regime. In the early decades, because of the rudimentary nature of India’s nuclear and space programs, the relationship was collaborative, since the rocket technology being developed was a necessary adjunct to the nuclear-weapon program. Subsequently, as India’s rocketry capabilities and nuclear-weapon program began to mature and concerns about international sanctions under the non-proliferation regime began to grow, the two programs were separated. The Indian rocketry program was also divided, with the civilian-space and ballistic-missile programs clearly demarcated. After India declared itself a nuclear-weapon state in 1998 and the programs matured, the relationship has become more supportive. As the two programs mature further, this relationship is likely to deepen, as the nuclear-weapon program requires space assets to build a robust and survivable nuclear deterrent force.
Notes
1 Ashley J. Tellis, “India’s ASAT Test: An Incomplete Success,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 15, 2019, <https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/04/15/india-s-asat-test-incomplete-success-pub-78884>.
2 George Perkovich, India’s Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 114, 122–23.
3 Atomic Energy Commission, Government of India, “Atomic Energy and Space Research: A Profile for the Decade 1970–80,” 1970.
4 Raj Chengappa, Weapons of Peace: The Secret Story of India’s Quest to Be a Nuclear Power (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2000), pp. 148–50; Perkovich, India’s Nuclear Bomb, pp. 245–46.
5 For more details, see Gaurav Kampani, “Stakeholders in the Indian Strategic Missile Program,” Nonproliferation Review, Fall/Winter 2003, <www.nonproliferation.org/wp-content/uploads/npr/103kamp.pdf>.
6 On India’s intention behind the peaceful nuclear explosions of May 1974, see Onkar Marwah, “India’s Nuclear and Space Programs,” International Security, Vol. 2, No. 2 (1977), p. 96.
7 Perkovich, India’s Nuclear Bomb, pp. 190–91.
8 Sumit Ganguly, “India’s Pathway to Pokhran II: The Prospects and Sources of New Delhi’s Nuclear Weapons Program,” International Security, Vol. 23, No. 4 (1999), p. 161; Perkovich, India’s Nuclear Bomb, pp. 190–92.
10 Chengappa, Weapons of Peace, pp. 157–58.
11 Anupam Srivastava, “India’s Growing Missile Ambitions: Assessing the Technical and Strategic Dimensions,” Asian Survey, Vol. 40, No. 2 (2000), p. 322.
12 Chengappa, Weapons of Peace, p. 156.
13 Gaurav Kampani, “Stakeholders in the Indian Strategic Missile Program,” Nonproliferation Review, Fall/Winter 2003, <www.nonproliferation.org/wp-content/uploads/npr/103kamp.pdf>.
14 Dinshaw Mistry, “India’s Emerging Space Program,” Pacific Affairs, Vol. 71, No. 2 (1998), p. 156; V. Siddhartha, “Military Dimensions in the Future of the Indian Presence in Space,” Journal of the United Service Institution of India, Vol. 130 No. 540 (2000), p. 249. Dr. Siddhartha during this period was officer on special duty in the Secretariat of the Scientific Adviser to the Raksha Mantri, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi.
15 Dinshaw Mistry, “The Geostrategic Implications of India’s Space Program,” Asian Survey, Vol. 41, No. 6 (2001), p. 1029. See also Anupam Srivastava, “India’s Growing Missile Ambitions: Assessing the Technical and Strategic Dimensions,” Asian Survey, Vol. 40, No. 2 (2000), p. 322.
16 Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “India’s Space Ambitions and Capabilities,” in Sumit Ganguly, Manjeet Pardesi, and Nicolas Blarel, eds., The Oxford Handbook of India's National Security (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2018), pp. 458–76.
17 Raju G.C. Thomas, “India’s Nuclear and Space Programs: Defense or Development?” World Politics, Vol. 38, No. 2 (1986), p. 319.
18 Robert C. Harding, Space Policy in Developing Countries: The Search for Security and Development on the Final Frontier (Abingdon: Routledge, 2013), p. 103.
19 Perkovich, India’s Nuclear Bomb, p. 244.
20 Padmanabh Joshi, ed., Vikram Sarabhai: The Man and the Vision (Ahmedabad: Mapin, 1992), cited in Dinshaw Mistry, “India’s Emerging Space Program,” Pacific Affairs, Vol. 71, No. 2 (1998), p. 152.
21 Dinshaw Mistry, “The Geostrategic Implications of India’s Space Program,” Asian Survey, Vol. 41, No. 6 (2001), p. 1029.
22 Rajesh Rajagopalan, “Assured Retaliation: The Logic of India’s Nuclear Strategy,” in Muthiah Alagappa, ed., The Long Shadow: Nuclear Weapons and Security in 21st Century Asia (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2008), pp. 188–214.
23 Cited in Perkovich, India’s Nuclear Bomb, p. 245.
24 Brahmos Aerospace, “Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP),” <www.brahmos.com/content.php?id=10&sid=25>.
25 Chengappa, Weapons of Peace, pp. 148–50; Perkovich, India’s Nuclear Bomb, p. 310.
26 Thomas, “India’s Nuclear and Space Programs,” p. 319.
27 Chengappa, Weapons of Peace, pp. 148–50; Perkovich, India’s Nuclear Bomb, pp. 158, 311.
28 Press Trust of India, “India Test Fires Medium Range Nuclear Capable Agni-II Missile,” February 20, 2018, <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-test-fires-agni-ii-missile-off-odisha-coast/articleshow/62993975.cms?from=mdr>.
29 Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, “Agni II,” n.d., <https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/missile-proliferation/india/agni-ii/>.
30 Rajat Pandit, “Agni-V with China in Range Tested; Next in Line Is Agni-VI, with Multiple Warheads,” Times of India, December 27, 2016, <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/agni-v-with-china-in-range-tested-next-in-line-is-agni-vi-with-multiple-warheads/articleshow/56191362.cms>.
31 Franz-Stefan Gady, “India Test Fires Short-Range Ballistic Missiles from Submerged Sub,” The Diplomat, August 22, 2018, <https://thediplomat.com/2018/08/india-test-fires-short-range-ballistic-missiles-from-submerged-sub/>; Rajat Pandit, “Nuclear Submarine INS Arihant Completes Patrol, Country’s N-Triad Operational,” Times of India, November 5, 2018, <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/as-nuclear-sub-arihant-returns-after-first-deterrence-patrol-indias-nuclear-triad-complete/articleshow/66515624.cms>.
32 Press Trust of India, “India successfully test-fires K-4 submarine-launched nuclear capable missile,” Economic Times, January 24, 2020, <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-successfully-test-fires-k-4-submarine-launched-nuclear-capable-missile/articleshow/73591070.cms>.
33 Manu Pubby, “Submarine Launched K4 Missile Test Now Likely in Mid December,” Economic Times, December 2, 2019, <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/submarine-launched-k4-missile-test-now-likely-in-mid-december/articleshow/72305389.cms?from=mdr>; DRDO, “Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) K-4 Test Imminent,” October 25, 2019, <www.drdo.gov.in/sites/default/files/drdo-news-documents/DRDO_News_25_Oct_2019.pdf>.
34 Hemant Kumar Rout, “DRDO on Long Range Pralay, K5 to Stalemate China Soon,” New Indian Express, December 15, 2018, <www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2018/dec/15/maiden-trial-of-pralay-k5-likely-soon-1911623.html>.
35 For details, see Missile Technology Control Regime, <https://mtcr.info/trade/>.
36 Raj Chengappa, “US Blocks Critical Cryogenic Deal, Forces India to Indigenise,” India Today, August 15, 1993, <www.indiatoday.in/magazine/science-and-technology/story/19930815-us-blocks-critical-cryogenic-deal-forces-india-to-indigenise-811389-1993-08-15>; Nikita Mehta, “How Isro Got an Indigenous Cryogenic Engine,” LiveMint, March 11, 2014, <www.livemint.com/Specials/HgL2TtHJi3WbLO0IB7at2L/How-Isro-got-an-indigenous-cryogenic-engine.html>.
37 For instance, both Vikram Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan had “consistently opposed any military application for its dual-use projects such as the SLV-3.” See Mistry, “India’s Emerging Space Program,” p. 156.
38 Hans Kristensen, “Nuclear Notebook: Indian Nuclear Forces, 2018,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, November 1, 2018, <www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00963402.2018.1533162>.
39 Shyam Saran, India’s former foreign secretary, explained these in a speech titled, “Is India’s Nuclear Deterrent Credible?” lecture at Subbu Forum Society for Policy Studies, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, April 24, 2013, <http://ris.org.in/images/RIS_images/pdf/Final%20Is%20India's%20Nuclear%20Deterrent%20Credible-%20rev1%202%202.pdf>.
40 Kristensen, “Nuclear Notebook.”
41 Saran, “Is India’s Nuclear Deterrent Credible?”; Ministry of External Affairs, “Cabinet Committee on Security Reviews Progress in Operationalizing India’s Nuclear Doctrine,” media release, January 4, 2003, <www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/20131/The+Cabinet+Committee+on+Security+Reviews+perationalization+of+Indias+Nuclear+Doctrine>.
42 Shane Mason, “India’s Ballistic Missile Defense Program: Implications for Strategic Stability in South Asia,” Fall Conference, Project on Nuclear Issues, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC, December 17, 2013, p. 5; Sumit Ganguly, “India’s Pursuit of Ballistic Missile Defense,” Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 21, Nos. 3–4 (2014), pp. 373–82.
43 Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “Strategic Implications of India’s Ballistic Missile Defense,” Federation of American Scientists, May 18, 2017, <https://fas.org/wp-content/uploads/media/Strategic-Implications-of-India%E2%80%99s-Ballistic-Missile-Defense.pdf>.
44 Shyam Saran, “India’s Nuclear Weapons Not For National Pride,” Tribune, May 9, 2013, <http://ris.org.in/images/RIS_images/pdf/tribune-9may%202013.pdf>; Saran, “Is India’s Nuclear Deterrent Credible?”
45 Ajey Lele, “GSAT-7: India’s Strategic Satellite,” Space News, September 9, 2013, <https://spacenews.com/37142gsat-7-indias-strategic-satellite/>.
46 Ibid..
47 Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, “GSAT-6,” August 27, 205, <www.vssc.gov.in/VSSC/index.php/gsat-6>.
48 D.S. Madhumathi, “ISRO’s GSAT-7A to Add More Heft to Air Force,” The Hindu, December 16, 2018, <www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/isros-gsat-7a-to-add-more-heft-to-air-force/article25758707.ece>.
49 First Post, “India to Launch GSAT 32 Satellite in October 2019 to replace the silent GSAT 6A,” August 13, 2018, <www.firstpost.com/tech/science/isro-to-launch-gsat-32-satellite-in-october-2019-to-replace-the-silent-gsat-6a-4951441.html>.
50 Tejonmayam, “PSLV-C46/Risat-2B Mission a Success, ISRO Places Radar Imaging Earth Observation Satellite in Orbit,” Times of India, May 22, 2019, <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pslv-c46/risat-2b-mission-a-success-isro-places-radar-imaging-earth-observation-satellite-in-orbit/articleshow/69436939.cms>; Hanneke Weitering, “India Successfully Launches RISAT-2B Earth-Observation Satellite,” Space.com, May 22, 2019, <www.space.com/india-risat-2b-earth-satellite-launch-success.html>.
51 eoPortal, “RISAT-1,” n.d., <https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/r/risat-1>.
52 D.S. Madhumathi, “With RISAT-2B, India Resumes Radar Imaging Space Fleet,” The Hindu, May 20, 2019, <www.thehindu.com/news/national/coming-soon-an-all-seeing-radar-imaging-satellite/article27182653.ece>.
53 Ivan Mehta, “This Is What ISRO’s Cartosat Satellites Are Doing in Space,” HuffPost India, June 23, 2017, <www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/06/23/this-what-isros-cartosat-satellites-are-doing-in-space_a_22583681/>.
54 T.K. Rohit, “ISRO’s PSLV-C43 Successfully Places HySIS, 30 Foreign Satellites in Respective Orbits,” The Hindu, November 29, 2018, <www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/isros-pslv-lifts-off-with-hysis-and-30-foreign-satellites/article25621027.ece>.
55 The demand for an aerospace command has been on for more than a decade. For details, see Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “Synergies in Space: The Case for an Indian Aerospace Command,” Issue Brief No. 59, Observer Research Foundation, October 2013, <www.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/IssueBrief_59.pdf>.
56 Space Daily, “India Creates Defense Space Research Agency, Plans July War Game Simulation,” June 13, 2019, <www.spacedaily.com/reports/India_creates_Defense_Space_Research_Agency_plans_July_war_game_simulation_999.html>; Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “A First: India to Launch First Simulated Space Warfare Exercise,” The Diplomat, June 12, 2019, <https://thediplomat.com/2019/06/a-first-india-to-launch-first-simulated-space-warfare-exercise/>.