Author: Vidya Sagar Reddy

The spate of recent developments concerning the use and defence of ballistic missiles indicate that the Indo-Pacific regional security environment is fast deteriorating. In West Asia, the Houthi rebels have demonstrated the use of advanced military capabilities, including the launch of ballistic missiles. Their target zone has now expanded to include Israel. And in East Asia, China is seeking Russia’s assistance in deploying a missile attack early warning satellite constellation as its military enhances the tempo of military exercises and deployments around Taiwan and in the South China Sea.  These developments not only destabilise the general security situation in India’s…

Russia is attempting to regain its status as a global space power by launching the Luna 25 mission to the moon almost five decades since the Soviet Union launched its last mission, the Luna 24, in 1976. As Russia emerges from the long shadow of the Soviet Union’s lunar accomplishments, it finds a world that is fast embracing a multi-polar political order extending to the Moon. Russia, which once enjoyed a pole position in geopolitical bipolarity during the Cold War, intends to ensure it doesn’t fall behind in these changed times. Leadership in the Past During the Cold War, the…

The United States (US) has taken an incremental step to further liberalise its approval process for the export of satellites and satellite components. The earlier approval process for these exports centred on the ‘presumption of denial’ policy if these products were expected to be flown on a foreign launch vehicle that the US government discourages. The policy has now shifted to reviewing the license requests on a case-by-case basis, thus emphasising a merit-based approach towards encouraging the US space industry. India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is a foreign launch vehicle not encouraged by the US authorities. Despite being granted…