Paris: India and France have taken their long-standing space partnership into a new phase, with three fresh commercial agreements signed between companies from the two countries covering space surveillance, satellite launches and microsatellite technology. The deals, announced at the first International Space Summit in Paris, are aimed at strengthening India’s sovereign space capabilities while deepening collaboration between French industry and India’s rapidly expanding private-sector space ecosystem.
The agreements include contracts worth more than €5 million between Safran Space and Dhruva Space for technologies to support India’s planned 52-satellite SBS-III space-surveillance constellation. The latest partnerships mark a significant shift and greater momentum towards private-sector and commercial participation in New Delhi-Paris space relationship, which has traditionally been anchored by ISRO and France’s CNES.
Safran-Dhruva space deal to support 52-satellite surveillance constellation
French aerospace company Safran Space has signed contracts valued at more than €5 million with Indian space company Dhruva Space.
The agreement covers the supply of:
- Communication systems
- Inertial navigation units
- Optical payloads
- Ground stations
These technologies are intended for India’s planned SBS-III space-surveillance constellation, which is envisaged to deploy 52 satellites between 2027 and 2030. The partnership is expected to contribute to India’s ability to independently monitor and track objects in space and add impetus to India’s growing ambitious private space sector.
The agreement builds on Safran’s long-standing engagement with India’s space programme, including its contribution to the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission and its expanding industrial presence in the country.
RIDE! to launch two TakeMeToSpace satellites
In another major commercial agreement, French launch-services provider RIDE! has partnered with Indian company TakeMeToSpace to launch two satellites. TakeMeToSpace has been described as India’s first designer of orbital data centres, reflecting the emergence of new commercial applications in the space sector.
The agreement builds on several years of cooperation between RIDE! and Indian space companies. Their collaboration has included the integration, launch and return of an European atmospheric re-entry capsule aboard India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV).
U-Space and AXISCADES target India’s microsatellite market
The third agreement involves French space company U-Space and Indian firm AXISCADES, which have signed a commercial cooperation agreement to explore opportunities in India’s expanding microsatellite market.
The partnership will follow a phased roadmap under the Make in India initiative, combining French space technology with India’s engineering and industrial integration capabilities. The companies will seek to address increasing commercial and institutional demand for microsatellite systems, further strengthening the role of private companies in India’s space ambitions.
Five decades of India-France space partnership
The latest agreements build on more than five decades of India-France cooperation in space, with ISRO and CNES serving as the foundation of the partnership.
Over the years, collaboration has expanded into several areas, including:
- Earth observation
- Space geodesy
- Human spaceflight
- Next-generation launch-vehicle technologies
- Planetary exploration
- Maritime domain awareness
- Space situational awareness
India and France have also established a Strategic Space Dialogue covering civil and defence 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 also concluded agreements involving the TRISHNA Earth-observation mission, future launch-vehicle technologies, maritime domain awareness and space situational awareness. Commercial launch cooperation has similarly developed over the years, with India’s PSLV launching French satellites and France’s Arianespace providing launch services for Indian geostationary satellites.
The latest India-France agreements underline the growing importance of commercial partnerships as the global space sector expands beyond traditional government-led programmes. With New Delhi-Paris space cooperation now extending into space surveillance, commercial launches, microsatellites, manufacturing and emerging space technologies, it add a significant dimension to the India-France strategic space partnership.
