Clearing the way for joint space exploration and transfer of space technology to New Delhi, the Indo-Russian space cooperation agreement has been signed into a federal law by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin signed the pact into a federal law after both houses of Russian Parliament unanimously approved the pact last month. It will allow transfer of sensitive space technology to India for the peaceful use of outer space, Kremlin press service said on Monday.
The framework agreement signed in New Delhi during Putin's visit in December 2004 sets a streamlined system and identifies the mechanism for enhanced cooperation in peaceful exploration of space, including protection of secret information and intellectual property rights and settling disputes.
After being signed into law by President Putin, Indo-Russian space cooperation will acquire strategic character and would speed up joint collaboration in completing and operationalising the Global Navigational Satellite System.
This will, in turn, end the monopoly of the Pentagon-controlled US Global Positioning System, sources in Roskosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency said.
During the then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee's Moscow visit earlier this year, Russia's defence ministry had also agreed to give India access to GLONASS's military segment, which is used for guidance of smart weapons.
Under the GLONASS agreement, Indian Space Research Organisation will launch Russian navigational satellites Glonass-M with the help of Indian space launch vehicles and jointly develop with Russia a new generation navigational satellite Glonass-K.
The two countries would also jointly develop and market Glonass receivers for commercial use.
GLONASS's Russian segment would be available for use by the end of this year and globally it would be available in 2008.
On completion, GLONASS will have 24-satellites in orbit. Russia will also launch a small research satellite- YouthSat for India and an agreement on this could be signed later this month.
