Space Doctrine of India

ABSTRACT

The tradition of promulgating military doctrines exists from time immemorial. In India, the same concept was adapted for civil purposes in the case of a nuclear doctrine. Herein, a space doctrine of India is proposed. From the beginning of space activities, India did not have an articulated, directive space policy. Nevertheless, India achieved successes in space activities ranging from indigenous launch to scientific probes to the Moon and Mars. Today, India is a space power of global standing and a space doctrine represents an authentic expression of India’s stance on space governance and space activities. The doctrine suggested in this article is one of resolve of the state to dedicate itself to a committed vision of collective prosperity through space activities, collective welfare of humankind, equity sharing with all stakeholders, and sustainability in the use of the space environment. It is an authoritative and emphatic statement on intended uses of outer space, an almanac of governing practices, and an enabler of regulation and supervision of national space activities in outer space.

Notes

1. Panchsheela is a Sanskrit word meaning five principles. Panch means five and sheel implies principles or pledges, as proposed in this article.

2. Manpreet Sethi, Nuclear Strategy, India’s March towards Credible Deterrence (New Delhi, India: KW Publishers, 2009), 120.

3. Ibid.

4. Antrix is an anglicized version of the Sanskrit word Antriksh, which means outer space.

5. G.S. Sachdeva, Outer Space, Security and Legal Challenges (New Delhi, India: Knowledge World, 2010), 42–43.

6. NASA News Service Bulletin, 22 May 2015.

7. Government of India, Department of Space, Annual Report 2011–2012, 97.

8. See Time staff, “The 25 Best Inventions of 2014,” Time (20 November 2014), http://time.com/3594971/the-25-best-inventions-of-2014/ (accessed 7 December 2015).

9. D.S. Watrous, “Indian Space Force: A Concept for the 21st Century,” Trishul 9, no. 2 (2006), 6–7.

10. The Army Commanders Conference in 2007 discussed Space Vision 2020 and urged the government on this aspect.

11. As of June 2016, India has the seventh largest satellite fleet in the world comprising 41 satellites, of which three are jointly operated. Data compilid from the Union of Concerned Scientists, http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-weapons/space-weapons/satellite-database# (accessed September 2016), reported in The Times of India (Chandigarh Edition), 9 September 2016: 10.

12. G.S. Sachdeva, “Space Mines: Dialectics of Legality,” Astropolitics 7, no. 2 (May–August 2009): 135–49.

13. Space Security: Need for a Proactive Approach, Report of IDSA-India Pugwash Society, Working Group on Space Security (New Delhi, India: Academic Foundation, 2009), 70.

14. G.S. Sachdeva, Outer Space: Law, Policy and Governance (New Delhi, India: KW Publishers, 2014), 73.

15. Ibid.

16. Extrapolated from indication given by U.R. Rao, Sixth Bose-Einstein Lecture on Science, Technology and Environment delivered at IIC, New Delhi, India, on 26 February 1998. Also, estimated from G.S. Sachdeva “India’s Space Activities in the 21st Century,” in India on the Threshold of the 21st Century, Shape of Things to Come, edited by S. Bhatt and V.S. Mani (New Delhi, India: Lancer Books, 1999), 276.

17. See http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-weapons/space-weapons/satellite-database#.V78I75MrKb8 (accessed September 2016).

18. K. Kasturirangan, “Space: The New Business Frontier,” Business India (26 April to 4 May 1997): 53.

19. Antrix Corporation is the commercial arm of ISRO and operates as a corporate entity. It was established in 1992.

20. For more detailed analysis, refer to G.S. Sachdeva, Outer Space: Law, Policy and Governance (New Delhi, India: KW Publishers, 2014), 155–205. The United States prompted private enterprise to harvest asteroids; see U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (2015).

21. See Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, signed 27 January 1967, 610 UNTS 205, 18 UST 2410, TIAS No 6347, 6 ILM 386 (entered into force on 10 October 1967). Known as the Outer Space Treaty (OST).

22. All referenced articles are cited from Ibid.

23. Rudiger Wolfrum, “The Problems of Limitation and Prohibition of Military Uses of Outer Space,” ZaoRV 44 (1984): 784–805. Also, see R. Wolfrum, “Common Heritage of Mankind,” Encyclopaedia of Public International Law 11 (1989): 67.

24. R. Dolzer, “International Cooperation in Outer Space,” ZaöRV 45 (1985): 527. Also see G.S. Sachdeva, Outer Space, Law, Policy and Governance (New Delhi, India: KW Publishers, 2014), 123–154.

25. Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, 1967, 610 UNTS 205, 18 UST 2410, TIAS No 6347, 6 ILM 386, Article VI.