India, France step up space cooperation with new private-sector deals

India and France have signed three new space-sector agreements covering satellite launches, space surveillance and microsatellite technology. The deals deepen longstanding cooperation between ISRO and CNES, while expanding private-sector collaboration in satellite manufacturing, launch services, commercial space activities and sovereign capabilities

Paris: India and France are stepping up cooperation in the space sector, with companies from the two countries signing three new agreements covering satellite launches, space surveillance and microsatellite technology, according to an official announcement.

The agreements, announced at the International Space Summit in Paris, include contracts worth more than 5 million euros between France’s Safran Space and India’s Dhruva Space for technologies to be used in India’s planned 52-satellite space-surveillance constellation.

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The new agreements come against the backdrop of more than five decades of space cooperation between India and France, built around the partnership between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and France’s space agency CNES.

The first edition of the International Space Summit is being held from September 9-10, bringing together governments, companies, space agencies and scientists.

The summit featured 51 announcements representing about 20 billion euros in contracts, investments and other commitments.

Safran Space signed contracts worth more than 5 million euros with Indian space company Dhruva Space to supply communication systems, inertial navigation units, optical payloads and ground stations for India’s planned SBS-III space-surveillance constellation.

The constellation is envisaged to deploy 52 satellites between 2027 and 2030, according to the announcement.

The partnership is aimed at supporting India’s sovereign space capabilities and marks a further expansion of cooperation between French industry and India’s growing New Space sector.

The deal also builds on Safran’s long-standing involvement in India’s space programme, including its contribution to the Chandrayaan-III lunar mission and the expansion of its industrial presence in the country.

In another major deal, French launch-services provider RIDE! has signed an agreement to launch two satellites for TakeMeToSpace, an Indian company described as the country’s first designer of orbital data centres.

The agreement builds on several years of cooperation between RIDE! and Indian space companies, including the recent integration, launch and return of a European atmospheric re-entry capsule aboard India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), according to the summit announcements.

Separately, French space company U-Space and Indian firm AXISCADES have signed a commercial cooperation agreement to explore India’s microsatellite market and address growing commercial and institutional demand.

The partnership will follow a phased roadmap under India’s “Make in India” policy, combining French space technology with India’s industrial integration capabilities.

Cooperation between India and France in the space sector has expanded over the years to areas including Earth observation, space geodesy, human spaceflight, next-generation launch-vehicle technologies and planetary exploration, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

India and France have also established a Strategic Space Dialogue covering civil and defence space cooperation. The first such dialogue was held in Paris in June 2023, while the second was held in New Delhi in March 2024, according to the MEA.

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

Indian and French launch-service companies have also worked together for several years. India’s PSLV has launched French satellites commercially, 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 backed cooperation in civil satellite development and human spaceflight programmes.

The latest commercial agreements therefore add another layer to a long-running India-France space partnership that is increasingly extending from government-led programmes to private-sector technology, manufacturing and commercial space activities.