Dialogues

Debates and dialogues are at the core of S2’s national and international engagement. From thematic roundtables to leadership debates, we help people and policy converge to solve problems, forge connections, elevate new voices and spotlight novel ways of working towards space sustainability.

About

Spaceport SARABHAI (S2) is a space think tank promoting outer space safety, sustainability and shared prosperity through research, dialogue and global engagement.

S2 was founded in the autumn of 2021. S2 embraces the multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural nature of human space endeavors.

S2 is headquartered in Bangalore with a satellite presence in New Delhi, Washington DC, Berlin, Amsterdam, Sendai and Montreal.

About

Spaceport SARABHAI (S2) is India’s first space think tank, launched at the Bangalore International Center on 2 October 2021. Emerging during the pandemic, S2 is not a brick-and-mortar institution, but one that manifests and collaborates in the digital-verse.

The S2 founding team includes lawyers, policy experts, technologists, entrepreneurs and a political scientist. Our team members reside in countries across the world: Bangalore, New Delhi, Washington DC, Berlin, Amsterdam, Sendai. We work virtually across time zones and meet in person when we get the chance.

S2 fosters critical thinking and opinion making, and provides policy guidance to the government through research and stakeholder feedback. With a focus on promoting space safety, security and sustainability through dialogue and global engagement, S2 embraces the multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural nature of human space endeavors. Our vision is to craft a 21st century space narrative that is inclusive and holistic.

Mission

S2 endeavors to accelerate the production of ideas related to outer space, amplify non-traditional space perspectives and inform space policy making through writings, events and conversations. 

Indian context >
+ Promote liberalization of the Indian space economy
+ Grow the body of knowledge that informs critical areas of space law & policy
+ Provide policy guidance to the government through research, stakeholder feedback and private outreach  

International context >
+ Engage in international dialogue for safety, security and sustainability
+ Promote international cooperation for peaceful uses of outer space
+ Shape a new space narrative with global hemispherical balance

Areas of Interest

+ International Space Law
+ Space Applications
+ Spectrum Allocation
+ Supply Chains
+ Space Insurance
+ NewSpace Industry
+ Space Innovation
+ Intellectual Property
+ Artemis Accords
+ Space Debris
+ Space Situational Awareness
+ Space Sustainability
+ International Cooperation
+ Unilateral Space Legislation
+ Mini-and-Multilateral Space Treaties
+ Technology Denial Regimes

Contact

Strategic Partnerships: narayan@spaceportsarabhai.org

Dialogues & Debates: shreya@spaceportsarabhai.org

Press & Social Media: meera@spaceportsarabhai.org

Career, General Enquiries: contact@spaceportsarabhai.org

Dialogues

Debates and dialogues are at the core of S2’s national and international engagement. From thematic roundtables to leadership debates, we converge people and policy to solve problems, forge connections, elevate new voices and spotlight novel ways of working towards space sustainability.

Perspectives

Spaceport Sarabhai serves as a platform to present perspectives via audio and video blogs and a podcast, each with its own voice, subject matter and diversity of viewpoints.

The NewSpace podcast by Narayan Prasad – a Berlin based entrepreneur - looks at the NewSpace landscape through the eyes of entrepreneurs, investors, liberalization advocates – and those on the other side of NewSpace – leaders of legacy industries who have been ISRO’s suppliers for decades and retired ISRO scientists, among others.

Listen

NewSpace Podcast

Spaceport SARABHAI organizes intimate and in-depth talks by domain experts to connect civil servants, politicians, scientists, and entrepreneurs with the latest on topics relevant to space law and policy, diplomacy, international cooperation and global access to international space markets.

Coming Soon

Policy Primers

The Explainer Series curated by Deepika Jeyakodi -- a young space lawyer – packages hot topics in space law and policy in bite-sized capsules for listeners to easily tune in to the pulse of the space legal landscape. In concert with subject matter experts, these vlogs walk you through international space law and policy issues of consequence to the evolving Indian space program – both governmental and private.

Tune In

The Explainer Series

This monthly Indian Space Progress Newsletter by - Jatan Mehta – a Mumbai based science writer of international repute - tracks the progress of the Indian space program on diverse fronts - technology, policy, exploration, applications and more. You can also tune into Jatan’s popular weekly lunar exploration blog Moon Mondays.

Read

Indian Space Progress Newsletter

History

Spaceport SARABHAI embraces a multi-disciplinary approach. This section provides a historical lens to view the Indian Space program. History is a vital component of India’s space narrative. It will help contextualize the evolution and future of India’s space trajectory.

Library

The S2 library comprises of :
(a) reports of S2’s ongoing space management research projects,
(b) Indian policy documents,
(c) international treaties,
(d) reports, ratings, policy on the space debris challenge.

S2 hopes these resources will be useful to researchers, law and policy makers, entrepreneurs, investors, bureaucrats, technocrats and others. We welcome suggestions for materials that you believe we ought to include.

This section will feature reading lists to better understand the Indian space program, it’s history, social and developmental scope, it’s geopolitical context, it’s technological achievements, it’s regulatory landscape and more.

This section will feature reading lists to better understand the Indian space program, it’s history, social and developmental scope, it’s geopolitical context, it’s technological achievements, it’s regulatory landscape and more.

Reading List

S2 is undertaking in-depth research on areas that have a direct bearing on India’s space policy and legislation. Our goal is to help operationalise space reforms through evidence-based policy making.

S2 is undertaking in-depth research on areas that have a direct bearing on India’s space policy and legislation. Our goal is to help operationalise space reforms through evidence-based policy making.

S2 Research

Indian Space Policy, 2023

This section, among other things, provides links to ISRO space policy drafts, Space Activities Bill draft, ISRO technology transfer guidelines, ISRO’s areas of research interest, application format for registering an Indian satellite system and ISRO’s quality management approach.

Indian Space Policy, 2023 https://www.isro.gov.in/media_isro/pdf/IndianSpacePolicy2023.pdf This section, among other things, provides links to ISRO space policy drafts, Space Activities Bill draft, ISRO technology transfer guidelines, ISRO’s areas of research interest, application format for registering an Indian satellite system and ISRO’s quality management approach.

ISRO Documents

This section, lists important United Nations Treaties such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention, the 1975 Registration Convention, and the 1979 Moon Agreement.

This section, lists important United Nations Treaties such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention, the 1975 Registration Convention, and the 1979 Moon Agreement.

UN Treaties

This section, lists important UN-OOSA links outlining how space applications can benefit humanity, how space assets can help accomplish Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reports published by the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPOUS), Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space and Outer Space Objects Index.

This section, lists important UN-OOSA links outlining how space applications can benefit humanity, how space assets can help accomplish Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reports published by the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPOUS), Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space and Outer Space Objects Index.

UN-OOSA

The Artemis Accords are a series of non-binding multilateral agreements between the United States government and other world governments participating in the Artemis Program, an American-led effort to return humans to the Moon by 2025, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond.

The Artemis Accords are a series of non-binding multilateral agreements between the United States government and other world governments participating in the Artemis Program, an American-led effort to return humans to the Moon by 2025, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond.

Artemis Accords

This section comprises of international debris guidelines, American debris guidelines, European Space Agency’s (ESA) space environment report, NASA cost-benefit analysis of orbital debris remediation, space debris related reports published by International Risk Governance Centre or IRGC (Switzerland) and information about the Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) system created to encourage responsible behaviour by all space actors.

This section comprises of international debris guidelines, American debris guidelines, European Space Agency’s (ESA) space environment report, NASA cost-benefit analysis of orbital debris remediation, space debris related reports published by International Risk Governance Centre or IRGC (Switzerland) and information about the Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) system created to encourage responsible behaviour by all space actors.

Space Debris

Team

The S2 library comprises of :
(a) reports of S2’s ongoing space management research projects,
(b) Indian policy documents,
(c) international treaties,
(d) reports, ratings, policy on the space debris challenge.

S2 hopes these resources will be useful to researchers, law and policy makers, entrepreneurs, investors, bureaucrats, technocrats and others. We welcome suggestions for materials that you believe we ought to include.

Dr. Ranjana KAUL

Dr. Ranjana KAUL

Secretary General

Dr. Ranjana Kaul is a Partner at Dua Associates, Law Offices, New Delhi, India. She specializes in the international air law and space law regimes, and advises on its intersection with India’s policy and regulatory framework, in the context of commercial space activities and the military use of outer space.

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Dr. Susmita MOHANTY

Dr. Susmita MOHANTY

Director General

Susmita Mohanty is a serial space entrepreneur and space diplomat. Her latest endeavour launched in October 2021 is India’s first dedicated space think tank called Spaceport SARABHAI (S2). As the Director General, she provides stewardship for S2’s mission and strategy.

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Dr. Narayan PRASAD

Dr. Narayan PRASAD

Director, Operations

Narayan is Chief Operations Officer at Satsearch, a global marketplace for space based in The Netherlands that streamlines procurement for space engineers. He also serves as a Partner to SpacePark Kerala, a Government of Kerala initiative to develop a dedicated space economy hub in India.

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Ashok G.V.

Ashok G.V.

Director, Legal Affairs

Ashok is an Advocate practising before the High Court of Karnataka and a Partner of Factum Law, Bengaluru. As a commercial disputes litigator, he represents clients across industries and sectors in litigations involving indirect taxes, company law, contracts, intellectual property rights, product and service liability claims.

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Dr. Shreya SANTRA

Dr. Shreya SANTRA

Curator, Debates & Dialogues

Dr. Shreya Santra is an Assistant Professor of Space Robotics at Tohoku University, Japan. She holds a Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering with specialization in planetary surface robotics. She has worked extensively as part of international teams.

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Deepika JEYAKODI

Deepika JEYAKODI

Curator, The Explainer Series

Deepika Jeyakodi is a member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL). In 2022, she was awarded the IISL Space Law Award for Young Achiever at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris. She is currently a Senior Commercial Contracts Officer at Airbus Defense and Space Netherlands, where she works with interdisciplinary teams on contracts, collaborations, intellectual property, innovation, and product marketing.

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Meera ROHERA

Meera ROHERA

Young Graduate Research Fellow

Meera Rohera graduated from Tufts University with a BA in Political Science and Philosophy. Her research interests include outer space law and policy, Indian space economy and diplomacy, ASAT weapons, space resources and the Artemis Accords. Meera has been a part of S2 since early days of its formation. She manages S2 social media including Twitter and LinkedIn, curates Global Voices – a video blog series, contributes to law and policy research, editing, and strategy.

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Eshaan BANSAL

Eshaan BANSAL

Young Graduate Research Fellow

Eshaan Bansal is an S2 Young Graduate Research Fellow. He is researching the space insurance landscape in India. He is also doing a comparative study of space insurance and applicable legislations in about half a dozen countries to be able to recommend best practices for India.

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Aleena JOSEPH KALAYIL

Aleena JOSEPH KALAYIL

SARABHAI Fellowship Coordinator

Aleena Joseph joined Spaceport SARABHAI for coordinating the SARABHAI fellowship program for young professionals and students. Aleena graduated from Manipal University in 2021 with a Masters in International Relations and Geopolitics where she focused on science and technology policies with a specific focus on space policy.

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