MOSCOW – India has ordered Russia’s space equipment as it is preparing tosend its fist manned mission to orbit, Sergey Pozdnyakov, general directorand chief designer of Research & Development Production Enterprise Zvezda,a Russian company manufacturing life-support systems for humanspaceflights, said in an interview with Sputnik.

“India is developing its own space suits and life-support systems for themanned spacecraft. On the other hand, they plan the launch for 2022, thereis not much time left. So, we have received a request from Roscosmosstructures to deliver relevant equipment to India,” Pozdnaykov said,without providing any details about the equipment.

Indian mission is set to comprise three astronauts, to space by 2022, whichwill mark the 75th anniversary of its independence, with Russia set toassist it. Indian Ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma has toldSputnik that Russia and India will start practically cooperating on thematter in 2019 already.

Pozdnyakov also told the Russian news agency that “it takes about fouryears to develop a new spacesuit for operations in outer space.

He previously said that his company had turned to Russian space agencyRoscosmos with a proposal to start developing a new generation ofspacesuits to replace the Orlan spacesuits now in use.