China waiting for Indian equipment SING will be installed into Tiangong space station

It is generally believed that most of the things needed in India are imported from China. But at this time China needs an instrument made in India. An instrument designed by Indian scientists for China’s ambitious Tiangong space station has not yet been delivered to China. Expressing their irritation, the Chinese media has written that Indian scientists are facing difficulty in sending an instrument to be used in the space station to China.

What is this device?

South China Morning Post Report According to, the team of Indian Institute of Astrophysics has prepared Nebular Gas (SING) device for China’s Tiangong Space Station. This was the first of its kind collaboration between India and China in the world of space science. The cost of the instrument prepared by Indian scientists is said to be 50 thousand US dollars (about 41 lakh 37 thousand rupees).

What work will ‘Sing’ do?

The full name of SING is Spectrographic Investigation of Nebular Gas. This device is to be installed at Tiangong Space Station. As the station orbits Earth, SING will scan the sky in the ultraviolet waveband and help understand the composition and behavior of interstellar gas, as well as the birth and death of a star.

The report says that the Indian Institute of Astrophysics team had sought export permit from the Ministry of External Affairs for the SING device about a year ago. Since then there has been no progress in this matter. In the report, quoting Jayant Murthy, the astrophysicist leading the project, it has been written that the work related to the device was completed in two months. The instrument is in a clean room and ready to fly.

The report says that the horn is not the only instrument. Other international experiments being conducted for China’s space station are also facing export related problems. If Sing reaches China this year, it will be the first international payload to operate in the Chinese space station.