3 Russian cosmonauts wave tricolour from Int’l Space Station to wish India on its 80th I-Day; recall decades-old Delhi-Moscow friendship

NEW
DELHI:
As
I dia
gea s
up
to
celeb ate
its
80th
I depe de ce
Day
o
Aug
15,
th ee
Russia
cosmo auts
o
boa d
the
I te atio al
Space
Statio
have
exte ded
thei
I-Day
g eeti gs
to
the
I dia
people
by
holdi g
the
t icolou
a d
se di g
a
special
video
message
ecalli g
decades-old
f ie dship
betwee
Moscow
a d
New
Delhi.
The
message
t a smitted
f om
the
space
statio
f om
a
altitude
of
408
km
se ves
as
a
maste class
i
o bital
diplomacy.I
the
video
message
eposted
by
the
Embassy
of
Russia
i
I dia
o
Mo day,
Russia
space
c ew
—
Pyot
Dub ov,
A a
Kiki a
a d
A d ey
Fedyaev
—
co g atulated
I dia
a d
desc ibed
space
explo atio
as
a
key
pilla
of
bilate al
ties.
“Eight
decades
ago,
I dia
b oke
f ee
f om
colo ial
ule
a d
emba ked
o
a
jou ey
towa ds
self- elia ce
a d
p ospe ity…
Dea
f ie ds,
today
the
Republic
of
I dia
is
celeb ati g
its
80th
I depe de ce
Day,”
cosmo aut
Pyot
Dub ov
said,
exte di g
his
wishes
to
I dia.

Holdi g
the
t icolou
alo gside
th ee
poste s
showcasi g
I dia-Russia
space
coope atio ,
the
space
c ew
highlighted
key
milesto es
i
the
I do-Russia
pa t e ship,
i cludi g
the
1975
lau ch
of
I dia’s
A yabhata
satellite
a d
1984
flight
of
I dia-bo
cosmo aut
Rakesh
Sha ma.

The
cosmo auts
also
talked
about
I dia’s
most-ambitious
o goi g
Gaga yaa
p og amme,
oti g
fou
I dia
ast o auts
(Gaga auts)
we e
t ai ed
i
Russia
—
P asha th
Nai ,
Ajit
K ish a ,
A gad
P atap,
a d
Shubha shu
Shukla
completed
thei
space
t ai i g
module
at
Russia’s
Yu i
Gaga i
Cosmo aut
T ai i g
Ce t e
i
Sta
City
betwee
Feb
2020
a d
Ma ch
2021.A a
Kiki a
ecalled
Soviet
cosmo aut
Yu i
Gaga i ’s
histo ic
visit
to
I dia
i
Nov
1961.
She
quoted
Gaga i ’s
famous
wo ds
about
the
cou t y:
“I dia
is
ve y
beautiful
f om
above,
but
it
is
eve
mo e
beautiful
a d
special
because
it
is
home
to
t ue
f ie ds.”“The
f ie dship
betwee
ou
cou t ies
has
bee
time-tested,
a d
space
explo atio
is
o e
of
the
mai
a eas
of
ou
coope atio ,”
she
said.