Paris

Indiaand 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, ac-cording 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 Saf-ran Space and Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space for technologies to be used in India's planned 52-satellite space-surveillance constellation.

The new agreements come against the backdrop of more than five dec-ades 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 agen-cies and scientists.

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

Safran Space signed contracts worth more than 5 million euros with Indi-an space company Dhruva Space to supply communication systems, iner-tial 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 capabili-ties and marks a further expansion of cooperation between French indus-try 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 re-turn of a European atmospheric re-entry capsule aboard India's Polar Sat-ellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), according to the summit announcements.

Separately, French space company U-Space and Indian firm AXIS-CADES have signed a commercial cooperation agreement to explore In-dia's microsatellite market and address growing commercial and institu-tional demand.

The partnership will follow a phased roadmap under India's “Make in In-dia” 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, hu-man spaceflight, next-generation launch-vehicle technologies and plane-tary exploration, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). India and France have also established a Strategic Space Dialogue cover-ing 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.