Russia may help India to train astronauts, deputy PM says

NOVOSIBIRSK, June 21. /TASS/. Russia may help India to train its astronauts in the future, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Wednesday. "In prospect, it is possible to train Indian astronauts on the basis of our center of Roscosmos," Rogozin told the meeting of a bilateral high-level commission for cooperation in advanced technologies for military and civilian purposes. Rogozin also said he informed India’s Finance Minister, Minister of Defense and Minister of Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley about the prospects of Russia’s manned spacecraft and the development of the International Space Station (ISS). "But we should see the prospect after 2024," Rogozin said. "I believe we could discuss cooperation between Russia and India in this area as part of the commission." He explained that it is also possible to gain profit due to creating new generation spacecraft for the Earth’s remote sensing, navigation, communications and researches of the far space. The deputy prime minister noted that India "has made serious headway in this area" and Russia is carefully watching the success of its Indian partners. "We believe it’s time for a more large-scale cooperation in this area," he stressed. Read more