Aligned Orbits: Forging a New Era of Indo-German Space Collaboration

This report assesses the Indo-German space partnership, noting that despite historical ties since 1963, the bilateral space relationship has underperformed largely due to ISRO’s monopoly and Germany’s ESA-centric focus. However, a pivotal opportunity has emerged, driven by concurrent major policy shifts in both countries, including a series of Indian reforms (since 2020) to privatize its space sector and Germany’s recently announced $41 billion defense space investment.
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This report assesses the Indo-German space partnership, noting that despite historical ties since 1963, the bilateral space relationship has underperformed largely due to ISRO’s monopoly and Germany’s ESA-centric focus. However, a pivotal opportunity has emerged, driven by concurrent major policy shifts in both countries, including a series of Indian reforms (since 2020) to privatize its space sector and Germany’s recently announced $41 billion defense space investment. Technological complementarities are strong across the space value chain, and India can offer reliable, cost-effective launchers (PSLV, SSLV), while Germany leads in advanced payloads, robotics, and synthetic aperture radar. The report identifies Earth Observation, On-Orbit Servicing, space quantum communications, and planetary science as key areas for a high-profile bilateral space project. To realize the full potential of the Indo-German space relationship, B2B collaborations are the way forward, and the report calls for overcoming barriers such as regulatory fragmentation and export controls. Recommendations include establishing an annual high-level Space Dialogue, creating a strategic grants program for startups, initiating a flagship joint mission to foster deeper industrial and strategic interdependence, and fostering talent exchange and codevelopment.

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