The U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), in partnership with the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, the United States Mission in India, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, co-hosted the U.S.-India Space Business Forum on February 10 and 11 in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

The first dedicated forum of its kind focused exclusively on space business cooperation and brought together senior scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), U.S. and Indian policymakers, space entrepreneurs, industry leaders, media representatives, think tanks, and India’s astronauts Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair.

According to a statement from USISPF, the two-day event also featured a delegation of 23 executives from 14 U.S. space companies, led by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), marking its maiden space-themed trade mission to India.

Participating U.S. companies included Amazon, Axiom Space, Apex, BlackSky, Elve, Kayhan Space, Park Aerospace, Planet Labs, Resecurity, SpaceX, Vast Space, Umbra Space, Viasat, and Vantor. Officials from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State were also part of the delegation.

Indian space companies and startups represented at the forum included Dhruva Space, IN-SPACe, GalaxEye, KaleidEO, Skyroot Aerospace, Ananth Technologies, Pixxel, and Digantara.

“The burgeoning space sector has seen a boom since the reforms of the past few years, initiated by the Government of India, unlocking the space sector for increased private participation,” the statement said, adding, “The dedicated space conclave was the culmination of sustained efforts through decades of policy planning to move the needle on U.S.-India space dialogue through the Civil Space Joint Working Group.”

The forum featured a keynote address by Dr. V. Narayanan, Secretary, Department of Space, Government of India. Special remarks were delivered by the co-chairs of the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group. Swarnashree Rao Rajashekar, Joint Secretary at the Department of Space, presented the India co-chair perspective, while Janice Starzyk, Deputy Director, Office of Space Commerce at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the U.S. Department of Commerce, delivered the U.S. co-chair perspective. The inaugural session also included a recorded address by Joel Graham, Associate Administrator for Legislative and Industry Affairs at NASA.

Panel discussions during the forum covered a broad range of topics, including foreign direct investment in India’s space sector, evolving space policy frameworks, and strategies to strengthen the startup ecosystem. Dedicated sessions on bilateral collaboration examined themes such as “The Road so far and Future Areas of Cooperation,” “Prospects for Start-ups and Entrepreneurs in India and the U.S.,” and “U.S.-India Defense Synergy in the Space Domain.”

“Space today is no longer a distant frontier. It is a critical economic and strategic domain. It underpins our goals for growth and national security, climate resilience, disaster response, infrastructure planning, and global connectivity. Increasingly, it is being shaped not only by governments, but largely by private enterprises, entrepreneurs, and global capital,” said Nivedita Mehra, Managing Director of USISPF’s India office in New Delhi.

Mehra noted that India’s space reforms, evolving FDI frameworks, and the rapid growth of its private sector have reshaped the ecosystem, adding, “At the same time, the US continues to lead in commercial innovation and advanced technologies. Together, our strengths are complementary — and the opportunity before us is not simply cooperation, but co-creation.”

USISPF stated that while much of the U.S.-India space dialogue in earlier years took place through formal discussions and joint statements, those conversations have increasingly translated into joint missions, shared platforms, and expanding commercial partnerships involving ISRO, NASA, industry stakeholders, and Indian startups.

A highlight of the second day was a fireside conversation between Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, who engaged with policymakers, industry representatives, and students.

“Captain Shukla made history in June 2025 by becoming first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS) via the Axiom-4 mission, and only the second Indian in space since the famed Rakesh Sharma who went to the stars back in 1984 with Russian cosmonauts in the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11,” the statement noted.

Both astronauts reflected on their experience during the Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station, their training alongside NASA astronauts in Houston, and lessons from the mission. They also addressed questions related to the future of space research, ethical considerations in space exploration, and the importance of building international consensus. The discussion emphasized the value of interdisciplinary collaboration, noting that humanities graduates complement STEM professionals in advancing space research and exploration.

During the event, USISPF presented both Group Captains with its coffee table book, “We The People,” which chronicles 75 years of the U.S.-India partnership and highlights the origins of India’s space program and NASA’s role during ISRO’s formative years.

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