India will collaborate with the United States to set up 15 reception stations across the globe, including one in India, for the satellite due for launch in 2009, a statement by the space agency said.

The announcement came at the end of a five-day conference on bilateral space cooperation attended by 150 US delegates in the southern Indian hi-tech hub Bangalore.

The project, known as the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), will monitor the climate and help predict cyclones, support disaster management and develop agricultural and maritime industries.

Northrop Grumman Space Technology and Raytheon are industry partners in building the satellite.

The Indian participation "is important towards having significant work on NPOESS," said Gregory Withee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US agency involved in the project.

SPACE.WIRE