US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI1136

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001136 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2015 
TAGS: PREL, ETTC, TSPA, CVIS, TSPL, FR, TH, IN, NSSP 
SUBJECT: ISRO CHAIRMAN: HELP US MAINTAIN MOMENTUM IN SPACE 
COOPERATION 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador David C. Mulford, for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1.  (C) In a February 10 meeting with the Ambassador and 
staff aide, Dr. Madhavan Nair, Indian Space Research 
Organization (ISRO) Chairman was generally upbeat about the 
NSSP framework of growing US-India cooperation on space 
technology but was visibly frustrated at what he perceives 
are several significant obstacles slowing progress.  Dr. Nair 
asked the Ambassador for assistance with: 
 - the alleged 8 month delay for a one week briefing from 
Boeing on a transponder bus deal that was the subject of a 
carefully negotiated State Department license; 
 - the lack of an umbrella agreement for space technology 
cooperation or a working group between NASA and ISRO; 
 - the closing window of opportunity for a US payload to go 
on the Chandrayaan mission and promoting the idea of ISRO as 
a launch provider for USG payloads; 
 - ISRO's end-use licensing checks; and 
 - visa processing delays for ISRO personnel. 
Despite these concerns, Dr. Nair remains "positive" about the 
"good rapport" between the US-India on space technology 
collaboration.  Dr. Nair was joined by three other ISRO 
officials: Dr. Jacob Ninan, Director of International 
Cooperation. Dr. PS Goyal, Director of the ISRO Satellite 
Centre, and Dr. S. Sundararamaiah, Scientific Secretary. End 
Summary. 
 
2.  (C) The Ambassador, describing the NSSP as a "phased 
process," assured Dr. Nair that he realized that while those 
at the policy levels of both governments want to move forward 
together, there is "tension and irritation" at the working 
levels.  The Ambassador committed to "understand and fix" 
irritants that threaten to stall NSSP implementation.  Dr. 
Nair said NSSP was "a good move" but said progress since the 
agreement was signed was "not at the same speed" as expected. 
 The Ambassador asked Dr. Nair about ISRO's current top 
priorities and where we could help. 
 
The ISRO Wish List 
------------------ 
 
3.  (SBU) First, Dr. Goyal complained that since the 
Bangalore Space Conference 8 months ago when Boeing announced 
the deal, the company has been unable or unwilling to provide 
a 1-week briefing required to move to the next stage of 
company-to-company cooperation.  He asked the Ambassador to 
help on the issue by raising it with either the USG, which he 
said Boeing blamed for the delay, or Boeing directly. 
 
4.  (U) Second, Dr. Nair noted the absence of an umbrella 
agreement between ISRO and NASA to focus on both "national 
legislation issues and international committments," and 
suggested a working group to tackle obstacles to better 
coordination.  Dr. Nair remarked that such umbrella 
agreements already exist between India and Russia and have 
been very useful to navigate each others' bureaucracies 
efficiently. 
 
5.  (U) Third, according to Dr. Nair the window for the USG 
to put a payload on the Chandrayaan lunar mission was closing 
quickly.  Dr. Goyal confirmed that the scheduled launch date 
was end of 2007, and that any payload -- whether the Mini SAS 
or MQ -- would take two years to integrate into the program. 
Calling them "thrust areas", Dr. Nair lamented that time may 
run out before the governments could seize this significant 
opportunity to collaborate in the spirit of NSSP.  Dr. Nair 
also pitched the USG to use ISRO as a launch provider, and 
also to begin exploring joint ventures, promising 
"cost-effective payloads" if the USG would coordinate with 
India. 
 
6.  (U) Fourth,  the ISRO Chairman expressed frustration at 
having to deal with several USG agencies to get the required 
licenses for certain equipment, and asked if it were possible 
for one agency to handle it.  The Ambassador said this was 
unlikely to change, but he would convey the sentiment. 
 
7.  (U) Finally, Dr. Nair raised the issue of the difficulty 
in getting visas on short notice for ISRO officials. 
"Science, like business, cools down fast if not attended to," 
he remarked and appreciated any fast track method for getting 
his scientists appointments and visa clearances as fast as 
possible. 
 
8.  (C) When asked about ISRO's role in the tsunami 
aftermath, Dr. Nair agreed his organization had played an 
important role by providing damage assessments within 1-2 
days of India's coast, Sri Lanka and other affected 
neighbors.  ISRO also provided emergency communications with 
Andaman and Nicobar which no other agency could provide, and 
also facilitated remote medical consultations to the affected 
areas. 
 
9.  (C) Comment:  While ISRO Chairman Nair remains upbeat, 
the climate at ISRO towards NSSP is cooling due to their 
perception of unmet NSSP expectations and continuing 
obstacles to space technology cooperation.  We remind the 
Indians that NSSP is a phased process, but we will have to 
reach out and work hard to resolve the current irritants 
listed here to get ISRO back on the NSSP bandwagon. End 
Comment. 
MULFORD