Dr. Philippe Baptiste, Chairman and CEO of Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), interacting with The Hindu, during the 8th edition of Bengaluru Space Expo 2024 (BSX), a Biennial International Exhibition, by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), on Tumkuru road on September 18, 2024
| Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K

Philippe Baptiste, President of the French Space Agency, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), who is in India to participate in the Bengaluru Space Expo 2024, spoke to The Hindu on the sidelines of the event on a wide range of topics from celebrating 60 years of French-India space cooperation to the Gaganyaan and the TRISHNA missions.

Q. India and France have had a partnership of over six decades in space. How do you see this collaboration evolving?

A. It (India-France collaboration) is not only a great success of the past but an ongoing one. It started off with our launchers where we had a strong cooperation many decades ago. Then we also had a partnership in engines and Earth Observation and so on. It is an ongoing cooperation. We have many projects coming very soon for launching satellites, in the domain of space exploration and there is a lot of discussion in the areas of defence and security especially in Space Situational Awareness.

Q. Any update on the Indo-French Thermal Infrared Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment (TRISHNA) mission? When will it be launched?

A. TRISHNA which is our next project together is a very highly visible project. It is an infrared satellite project. It will greatly help to get information on climate, agriculture, drought forecasting and urban heat island monitoring. The project is going very well. We expect to launch the satellite in 2026.

Q. India and France in 2021 had signed an agreement for cooperation for the Gaganyaan mission. Could you please elaborate on the areas in which CNES is helping ISRO and how is it progressing?

A. We do have a bit of expertise in this area (human spaceflight) as we have been sending astronauts to space for several decades. With regard to the Gaganyaan programme, we are sharing knowledge, especially on space medicine, to understand the physiology of astronauts, to train them and so on. People from both India and France are going back and forth from Bengaluru and Toulouse sharing knowledge and expertise. We are sharing latest state-of-the-art expertise with ISRO.

Q. India has lined up ambitious missions like the Chandrayaan-4 and Chandrayaan-5 which aim at bringing back samples from the moon. Is France keen to be part of this?

A. We are looking forward to these missions. We are very impressed by what you are doing in India, especially in lunar exploration. There is a lot of ambition and a lot of energy. We are looking forward to seeing close cooperation in these areas.

Philippe Baptiste, Chairman and CEO of Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), during the 8th edition of Bengaluru Space Expo 2024 (BSX), a biennial international exhibition by the CII in association with ISRO, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, September 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K

Philippe Baptiste, President of the French Space Agency, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), who is in India to participate in the Bengaluru Space Expo 2024, spoke to The Hindu on the sidelines of the event on a wide range of topics from celebrating 60 years of French-India space cooperation to the Gaganyaan and the TRISHNA missions.

Q. India and France have had a partnership of over six decades in space. How do you see this collaboration evolving?

A. It (India-France collaboration) is not only a great success of the past but an ongoing one. It started with our launchers, where we had a strong cooperation many decades ago. Then we also had a partnership in engines and Earth Observation and so on. It is an ongoing cooperation. We have many projects coming very soon for launching satellites in the domain of space exploration, and there is a lot of discussion in the areas of defence and security, especially in Space Situational Awareness.

Q. Any update on the Indo-French Thermal Infrared Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment (TRISHNA) mission? When will it be launched?

A. TRISHNA, which is our next project together, is a very highly visible project. It is an infrared satellite project. It will greatly help to get information on climate, agriculture, drought forecasting and urban heat island monitoring. The project is going very well. We expect to launch the satellite in 2026.

Q. India and France in 2021 had signed an agreement for cooperation for the Gaganyaan mission. Could you please elaborate on the areas in which CNES is helping ISRO and how is it progressing?

A. We do have a bit of expertise in this area (human spaceflight) as we have been sending astronauts to space for several decades. With regard to the Gaganyaan programme, we are sharing knowledge, especially on space medicine, to understand the physiology of astronauts, to train them and so on. People from both India and France are going back and forth from Bengaluru and Toulouse sharing knowledge and expertise. We are sharing the latest state-of-the-art expertise with ISRO.

Q. India has lined up ambitious missions like the Chandrayaan-4 and Chandrayaan-5 which aim at bringing back samples from the moon. Is France keen to be part of this?

A. We are looking forward to these missions. We are very impressed by what you are doing in India, especially in lunar exploration. There is a lot of ambition and a lot of energy. We are looking forward to seeing close cooperation in these areas.

Bengaluru-based space startup Bellatrix Aerospace
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Bengaluru-based space startup Bellatrix Aerospace on Wednesday (September 18, 2024) unveiled Project 200, an innovative satellite designed to operate at an Ultra-Low Earth Orbit (180 km-250 km) on the inaugural day of the Bengaluru Space Expo 2024.

The startup said that this orbit transforms today’s satellite capabilities exponentially and reimagines the way a satellite connects with the planet.

Since Chandrayaan-3, what has India’s space programme been up to?

Game-changing propulsion technology

“Project 200 is a technology demonstration mission to qualify a new unconventional satellite powered by an innovative propulsion system at around 200 km. This technology would become a game changer for satellite owners and operators, revolutionising various applications, including high-resolution Earth observation, telecommunications, and scientific research,” the startup said.

Rohan M. Ganapathy, co-founder, CEO and CTO of Bellatrix Aerospace said, “Traditionally, satellites have been deployed in orbits at altitudes well above 450 km. This altitude choice has been influenced by various considerations, such as the desire to minimise the impact of atmospheric interference on satellite operations. Though it is known that a satellite’s capabilities improve significantly at 200 km, limitations on propulsion technology have prevented satellites from operating at this orbit.”

He added that over the last four years, Bellatrix has been working on solving this. 

India’s SpaceTech transformation is credited to privatisation

Improved capability

“Propulsion is always the heart of a satellite and cracking this part of the puzzle was of crucial importance. We have a breakthrough in propulsion technology that would allow satellites to operate from this orbit for years instead of deorbiting within few days due to drag. We are not just building a propulsion solution, but a first of a kind satellite capable of operating from this altitude,” he added.

Bellatrix said that, at this altitude, a satellite’s capability would improve significantly since the communication latency is reduced by half, image resolution improved by 3X, while also reducing the satellite cost by a significant magnitude.