India and Russia are not just strategic partners on land and in the air, their alliance extends deep into space, shaping the trajectory of India’s rise as a major spacefaring nation.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin receives a warm welcome in New Delhi, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting him at the airport and major defence deals on the agenda, the two nations appear poised to deepen their cooperation in space as well.

Long before Isro became synonymous with cost-effective missions and lunar triumphs, it was the Soviet Union that helped India take its very first steps into orbit. That cooperation, now five decades old, has evolved into an enduring and technologically rich partnership that continues to define India’s ambitions in human spaceflight and deep-space exploration.

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