Washington, Oct 22 (IANS) The United States India Business Council (USIBC) has hailed the launch of India’s maiden moon with two US instruments on board as the beginning of long “relationship promoting the opening of the frontier of outer space.”"This unique technology partnership in civil space exploration, which taps India’s highly skilled scientific expertise with American instrumentation furnished by Raytheon, beckons what we hope will be a long and mutually beneficial relationship promoting the opening of the frontier of outer space,” USIBC president Ron Somers said Wednesday.

The premier business advocacy organisation representing 280 of the largest US companies investing in India, celebrated the historic launch of Chandrayaan I at a reception at the US Chamber of Commerce.

Over a hundred US industry representatives, joined by officials from the White House, the State Department, US space agency NASA and the Indian Embassy watched the launch on a “live video feed” from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The USIBC said for more than a year it has been looking forward to celebrating this momentous occasion, as India - host to the fifth most advanced space programme in the world - sought to achieve this historic milestone.

India’s new Deputy Chief of Mission Arun Kumar Singh congratulated India’s scientific community, and commented on the benefits of technology collaboration between all free democracies to pursue discovery in the frontier of space, and how such partnership will facilitate access to technology across all sectors, benefiting all mankind.

Somers recalled that former US President John F. Kennedy who had inspired an entire generation in the 1960s, had described space exploration as “one of the great adventures of all time…and no Nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race to space.”

Chandrayaan I is carrying a scientific payload to the moon furnished by NASA that will enable experts from both countries to answer questions about the moon’s origin and geological development - as well locate resources, including water.