NEW DELHI: India and France have stepped up their space cooperation as companies from the two countries signed three key agreements at the recent International Space Summit in Paris relating to satellite launches, space surveillance and microsatellite technology.In the first agreement, France’s 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.In another deal, French launch-services provider RIDE! signed an agreement to launch two satellites for TakeMeToSpace, which is the country’s first designer of orbital data centres. The pact 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 PSLV rocket.In the third deal, French space company U-Space and Indian company AXISCADES signed a commercial cooperation agreement to explore India’s microsatellite market and address growing commercial and institutional demand.

The new agreements come against the backdrop of over five decades of space cooperation between India and France.The partnerships will follow a phased roadmap under India’s “Make in India” policy, combining French space technology with India’s industrial integration capabilities.