India, France Deepen Space Cooperation with New Private Sector Partnerships

PARIS, Sept 10: India and France have further strengthened their space partnership, with companies from both countries signing three new agreements covering satellite launches, space surveillance and microsatellite technology.

The agreements were announced during the International Space Summit in Paris, where governments, space agencies, scientists and private sector representatives gathered to discuss the future of the global space industry.

Among the key deals are contracts worth more than 5 million euros between French aerospace company Safran Space and Indian firm Dhruva Space. The partnership will provide communication systems, inertial navigation units, optical payloads and ground stations for India’s planned SBS-III space surveillance constellation.

The constellation is expected to comprise 52 satellites, with deployment planned between 2027 and 2030. The initiative is intended to strengthen India’s independent capabilities in monitoring and tracking objects in space.

The latest agreements also highlight the growing role of private companies in the strategic relationship between the two countries, which has developed over more than five decades through cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).

In a separate agreement, French launch-services provider RIDE! will launch two satellites for Indian company TakeMeToSpace, described as the country’s first designer of orbital data centres.

The arrangement builds on existing cooperation between the two companies and follows the recent integration, launch and return of a European atmospheric re-entry capsule aboard India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

Another agreement has been signed between French space company U-Space and Indian firm AXISCADES to explore opportunities in India’s growing microsatellite market.

The companies plan to follow a phased roadmap under the Make in India initiative, combining French space technologies with India’s manufacturing and industrial integration capabilities.

The latest developments come as broader cooperation between New Delhi and Paris continues to expand into areas such as Earth observation, space geodesy, human spaceflight, advanced launch vehicle technologies and planetary exploration.

India and France have also established a Strategic Space Dialogue focused on civil and defence-related space cooperation. The first meeting was held in Paris in June 2023, followed by the second in New Delhi in March 2024.

ISRO and CNES have separately reached agreements on future launch-vehicle technologies, the joint TRISHNA Earth-observation mission, maritime domain awareness and space situational awareness.

The two countries also have a long record of commercial launch cooperation. India’s PSLV has carried French satellites into orbit, while France’s Arianespace has provided launch services for Indian geostationary satellites.

During French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India in February, the two sides further endorsed cooperation in civil satellite development and human spaceflight programmes.

The latest commercial agreements mark a further shift toward deeper private sector participation in the bilateral relationship, adding technology development, manufacturing and commercial services to the long-standing government led partnership.