At a time when space is becoming central to global progress, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan has called for deeper technology collaboration between India and the US, stressing that space must remain a shared domain that serves ordinary citizens worldwide. He said India’s space journey has always been driven by cooperation, not competition.
Speaking at the US–India Space Business Forum in Chennai, organised by the US Consulate General–Chennai and the US–India Strategic Partnership Forum, Narayanan reflected on India’s nearly 6-decade space journey. He noted that early support from the US played a key role in shaping India’s programme, recalling how India’s first sounding rocket in 1963 was launched with assistance from the US and France.
Narayanan said India’s space mission was never designed to compete with other nations but to deliver advanced technology to the common citizen. “Today, that vision has widened to include the common man of the global community,” he said. He highlighted key milestones such as the 1975 Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, enabled by the US ATS-6 satellite, the joint discovery of water molecules on the Moon during Chandrayaan-1, and ongoing cooperation on the NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission.
He also described the December 2025 launch of the US commercial Bluebird Block-2 satellite as a strong signal of trust in Indian capabilities. “The 5,900-kg spacecraft, the heaviest lifted from Indian soil, was placed with less than 2 km of orbital dispersion. It showed what India and the US can achieve together,” he said.
Janice Starzik, Deputy Director at the US Office of Space Commerce, said the partnership has evolved beyond technology into market-building. “We are not here just to discuss technology. We are here to build the marketplace. And there is no partnership as critical as that of the future of the United States and India space partnerships,” she said, referring to the Trust Initiative launched last year covering space, semiconductors and secure supply chains.
Swarnashree Rao Rajashekar, Joint Secretary in the Department of Space, said India’s space reforms and private sector growth have opened new commercial opportunities. She added that cooperation has deepened sharply between 2023 and 2026, supported by India’s Space Policy 2023, the IN-SPACe framework, and a push for public–private partnerships.
Looking ahead, Narayanan outlined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goals of building an Indian space station by 2035 and a crewed lunar mission by 2040. He said such ambitions would need a new rocket with nearly 100-tonne lift capacity and wider global collaboration. Highlighting industry participation, he noted that over 450 Indian companies and 320 start-ups now contribute to the sector, with about 75% of launch vehicle budgets flowing to domestic industry. Inviting US firms to invest in India, he said, “We are ready to hand-hold and be partners in any programme.”
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