Indian Space Conclave 2024, organised by the Indian Space Association (ISpA) at The Lalit Hotel, New Delhi, was concluded today. The event witnessed various discussions among global space industry leaders, academia, and defence experts on greater international cooperation and advanced space situational awareness to manage the rapidly expanding satellite traffic.
This is the thread edition of the Indian Space Conclave, and it was inaugurated by Jitendra Singh, Union MoS (Ind. Charge) Science & Technology; Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, PP/ DoPT, Atomic Energy, Space, Dr S Somanath, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO; Ambassador Hervé Delphin, Ambassador of the European Union to India and Bhutan; Jayant Patil, Chairman, ISpA; and Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt, Director General, ISpA.
The conclave witnessed the attendance of over 1,000 participants and featured representation from more than 25 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Finland, Japan, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany, Taiwan, Brazil, Belgium, Chile and many others, said a statement from ISpA.
Industry leaders discussed about the emerging opportunities in human spaceflight, Indo-French space collaboration, and strengthening public-private partnerships within India’s space sector. Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, VSSC-ISRO said, “The Gaganyaan mission marks a pivotal moment in India’s space exploration journey. The mission will serve as the foundation for future, longer-duration space missions and the technology developed through this program will lay the groundwork for India’s ambitions to develop its own space station by 2035. Looking ahead, India’s space program has ambitious plans for the next decade. A new generation launch vehicle with greener propulsion technologies will enable larger payloads and more frequent missions. The aim is not only to develop technologies for crewed spaceflight but to create a sustainable space exploration model. By 2028, India plans to launch its first space station module, with the goal of completing a fully operational space station by 2035. Additionally, missions to the Moon, Venus, and Mars will further advance the country’s capabilities, demonstrating technologies for soft landings and sample return missions that will be crucial for future crewed missions.”
Indian Space Association (ISpA) and Brahma Research Foundation also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on advancing space technology and innovation. This partnership aims to leverage their collective expertise in research and development to drive India’s space ecosystem forward.
Major General Brian W. Gibson (USA), Director, Plans and Policy, J-5. United States Space Command said: “We expect thousands of satellites to be launched over the next five to 10 years, some of yours included, which creates a challenge for space traffic management. That’s where space domain awareness comes in. It enables us to see and predict on-orbit activity with increasing proficiency. International cooperation through information sharing, as it always has been, will continue to be a great enabler for our ability to understand better. We hope to continue to build interoperable partnerships with countries like India. As the space domain gets even more congested, partnerships will become even more important between and amongst individual and many nations. Detecting and deterring potential hostile acts against the United States, allied and partner interest in the space domain require enhanced battle space awareness, resilient and timely operational command and control, space systems cyber defense capabilities, and satellite telemetry, tracking, and control architectures. I look forward to being a part of the deepening U.S.-India Military Space Partnership and learning more about the exquisite capabilities that Indian Space Enterprise is developing.”
The conclave was also witness to satellite data solutions company SUHORA unveiling its latest product ‘SPADE’, a subscription-based SaaS platform designed to enhance accessibility to satellite data for critical operations. SPADE allows users to access and analyze multi-sensor satellite data in near real-time, empowering decision-making across vital sectors such as national security, disaster response, and environmental protection. This innovative platform streamlines satellite data into actionable insights, providing organizations with a powerful tool for rapid, data-driven responses to complex challenges.
