India and the United States are entering a new and consequential phase in their space relationship. What was once primarily a government-to-government scientific partnership has grown into a multidimensional engagement spanning research collaboration, commercial enterprise, human spaceflight, and strategic coordination.
On November 5 and 6, ORF America and The India Center at the University of Central Florida (UCF) hosted “Frontiers Beyond Borders: India–U.S. Space Cooperation in the 21st Century” at UCF in Orlando. This in-person conference will brought together scientists, engineers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, and strategic analysts from both the United States and India to develop an agenda for the bilateral space partnership – across science, commerce, education, foreign policy, and security.
Conference Overview
Thursday, November 5, 2026
3:30 PM - Roundtable: New Opportunities in India’s Startup Ecosystem
The India-U.S. partnership after 1998 has been enabled by growing high technology cooperation on strategic, digital, energy, and bio-technologies. Despite reducing barriers to cooperation over the past quarter century, new challenges have arisen, including competing industrial policies, tariffs, export controls, and access policies, motivated by national security and supply chain security concerns. What can the two countries—their governments, private sectors, and academic institutions—do now to strengthen collaboration in foundational technologies? How can the two sides develop a shared understanding of the strategic context that will shape the future of technology and space collaboration?
Friday, November 6, 2026
9 AM - Opening Remarks
Yogesh Joshi, Indian Community Endowed Chair and Director of The India Center, University of Central Florida
Harsh Pant, Vice President, Observer Research Foundation
Kerstin Hamann, Senior Associate Dean, College of Sciences, University of Central Florida
9:10 AM - Panel 1: Science and Technology Frontiers
India-U.S. space cooperation has led to several vital joint space science and technology projects, discoveries, and innovations. However, more recently, both countries have struggled to identify newer areas of space science and technology frontiers they can pursue together. A reset in the India-U.S. Civil Space Cooperation is needed with an impetus on use of frontier space technologies for next-generation satellites, spacecraft and space-based observatories, advanced propulsion, use of artificial intelligence in space missions, in-space manufacturing, and advanced materials, electronics, and chemicals. What areas of partnership for academic research facilities, not-for-profit and national laboratories will accelerate discovery, address shared challenges, and advance capabilities that neither country could achieve alone?
Speakers:
Kerri Donaldson Hanna, Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer Team, University of Central Florida
Kunal Mondal, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida
Gaurav Seth, Founder & CEO, PierSight Space
Moderator: Manoj Chopra, Associate Dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Central Florida
10:10 - Panel 2: Economics and Business of Space
The business of space has become more democratic with declining costs of launch, but also more congested with more players and more objects in space that are today vital for communications, navigation, earth observation, and other functions. While previous efforts in space were driven by public financing, the new space economy is increasingly privatized, with private players increasingly involved in launch and the entire space ecosystem. How can the United States and India unlock the full potential of the space economy, while ensuring suitable governance and regulation?
Speakers:
Siddhesh Naik, Co-Founder and CEO, ULOOK
Pradeep Nair, Principal, Flat Cosmos
Michael Vinje, Program Manager, Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer, Kennedy Space Center
Moderator: Eric Schmidbauer, Associate Professor of Economics, Barry S. Miller College of Business, University of Central Florida
11:30 AM - Panel 3: Startups and Technology Incubation
India and the United States host two of the world’s most dynamic space startup ecosystems, however, both countries have not yet identified areas where they complement each other in order to feed into their respective strengths in innovation. The United States remains a talent magnet with its huge capital backing, while India remains a huge talent source. This potentially narrows modalities for bilateral space cooperation. How should India and U.S. ecosystems collaborate as equal partners? How are universities, research institutions, and innovation hubs such as UCF connecting talent, capital, and incubating emerging technologies to strengthen the India-U.S. space innovation ecosystem?
Speakers:
Godard, CEO, Pixxel Europe
Pearly Pandya, Independent Space Analyst
Pradeep Shinde, Founder & CEO, SpaceLoon
Moderator: Julie Brisset, Associate Researcher, Florida Space Institute
1:15 PM - Fireside Chat: The India-U.S. Space Partnership
Harsh Pant in conversation with Sudheer Kumar, Vice President, XDLINX Space Labs
1:45 PM - Panel 4: Space Education and Academic Partnerships
Universities have been crucial epicentres of space R&D across all levels of space technology readiness levels and fundamental space science research. While space economic cooperation continues to take pre-eminence in the India-U.S. space bilateral, space academia partnerships—joint degree programs, scientist exchanges, joint R&D and science cooperation on vital space science missions, and student mobility—are vital for both countries to develop lasting space cooperation. How can universities in the United States and India work together to prepare the next generation of space leaders? How can universities equip students with the interdisciplinary skills, global perspectives, and cross-cultural experience needed to thrive in an increasingly interconnected space sector?
Speakers:
Adrienne Dove, Chair of Physics Department, University of Central Florida
Srikanth Kodeboyina, Founder & CEO, Blue Eye Soft Corp
Jaydeep Mukherjee, Director, Florida Space Grant Consortium
Moderator: Alain Berinstain, Director, Florida Space Institute
3:05 PM - Panel 5: Geopolitics, Security, and Strategic Dimensions of Space
Space has become a central arena of great-power competition and evolving multilateral governance. Meanwhile, both India and the United States have developed space warfighting capabilities and integrated space into their respective military doctrine—from India's Defence Space Agency and its 2019 ASAT demonstration to the establishment of the U.S. Space Force. How are India and the United States adapting to an increasingly contested space environment, and what opportunities exist for deeper defense cooperation? How can both countries advance cooperation in space amid growing geopolitical competition and an evolving global governance landscape?
Speakers:
Chaitanya Giri, Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
Namrata Goswami, Professor of Space Security, U.S. Space Force
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America
Moderator: Yogesh Joshi, Indian Community Endowed Chair and Director of The India Center, University of Central Florida
