Modi urges space cooperation, sets 2035 station 2040 Moon targets
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the International Space Summit in Paris, pushed for countries to work together instead of competing in space.
He spotlighted ISRO's achievements, like launching more than 430 satellites for 34 nations and helping with navigation, disaster relief, and farming.
Modi also cited the visit of an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2025 and said, "we aim to establish an Indian space station by 2035, and send an Indian to the Moon by 2040."
In all these efforts, our guiding principle has been clear: "the benefits must reach all humanity."
Indian French firms sign space deals
The summit saw fresh partnerships between Indian and French companies.
Dhruva Space from Hyderabad signed several contracts worth more than €5 million with Safran Space to supply technologies for India's future SBS-III space-surveillance constellation, which envisages deploying 52 satellites between 2027 and 2030.
Meanwhile, Paris-based RIDE! teamed up with TakeMeToSpace to launch two new satellites on behalf of TakeMeToSpace, and U-Space partnered with AXISCADES to boost India's microsatellite market.