Dr. Chaitanya Giri brings an insider’s perspective on whether India’s emerging space industry can overcome challenges such as limited infrastructure, reliance on imports, and gaps in R&D investment. We also explore how India stacks up against global giants like the USA and China, and what it will take to create a self-reliant, innovation-driven, and globally relevant space ecosystem.

Is India on the cusp of a space-tech renaissance or are we overestimating what’s realistically achievable in the current landscape?

Tune in for a grounded, no-hype analysis of India’s space future.

Questions covered in this episode:

1. Are Indian private space companies investing adequately in R&D, human capital, and technical expertise, to foster innovation, or is there a reliance on existing technologies and partnerships?​ How competitive are Indian private space companies on the global stage in terms of cost, technology, and reliability?
2. Given the reliance on imported components for critical technologies, what steps are being taken to develop a self-reliant supply chain within India?​
3. Considering the current challenges and achievements, what should be the strategic priorities for India’s private space sector in the next decade?
4. From your perspective, can the Indian space industry maintain long-term growth while pushing for affordable services?

About Access Hub’s B2B Online Marketplace:

Access Hub’s online marketplace is the world’s only B2B online marketplace, designed to seamlessly connect suppliers and buyers across six pivotal industries: Aviation & Aerospace, Climate Tech, Defense, Maritime, Media & Broadcasting, and Space Technology. We are transforming how businesses discover opportunities and establish partnerships in both Upstream and Downstream markets.

Leverage Access Hub‘s platform to elevate your business, connect with potential clients, and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving tech industries. Explore the opportunities that await and position your company for success in the global marketplace.

Dr. Chaitanya Giri brings an insider’s perspective on whether India’s emerging space industry can overcome challenges such as limited infrastructure, reliance on imports, and gaps in R&D investment. We also explore how India stacks up against global giants like the USA and China, and what it will take to create a self-reliant, innovation-driven, and globally relevant space ecosystem.

Is India on the cusp of a space-tech renaissance or are we overestimating what’s realistically achievable in the current landscape?

Tune in for a grounded, no-hype analysis of India’s space future.

Questions covered in this episode:

1. According to recent sources, India’s current share in the global space economy is approximately 2-3%, with the global market valued at around $8 billion. How realistic is this?
2. The Indian government has introduced policies like the Indian Space Policy 2023 and established IN-SPACe to promote private-sector participation. Are these initiatives sufficient to propel India towards its ambitious space economy goals?
3. Countries like the USA and China have substantial investments and established infrastructures in their space sectors. How does India’s plan account for the competitive advantages held by these nations?
4. Achieving a significant global market share increase requires substantial infrastructure and technology investment. Are there detailed plans and allocated budgets to support this growth?​

About Access Hub’s B2B Online Marketplace:

Access Hub’s online marketplace is the world’s only B2B online marketplace, designed to seamlessly connect suppliers and buyers across six pivotal industries: Aviation & Aerospace, Climate Tech, Defense, Maritime, Media & Broadcasting, and Space Technology. We are transforming how businesses discover opportunities and establish partnerships in both Upstream and Downstream markets.

Leverage Access Hub‘s platform to elevate your business, connect with potential clients, and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving tech industries. Explore the opportunities that await and position your company for success in the global marketplace.

The STRATFI program, part of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) effort, connects private-sector innovators with defense stakeholders and investors to fast-track the adoption of critical technologies. With potential funding of up to $60 million, the program enables Umbra to develop custom space-based intelligence capabilities in partnership with defense agencies including the Space Development Agency (SDA).

In addition, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is committing R&D support over the next three years to advance Umbra’s SAR capabilities, reinforcing the broader STRATFI mission to integrate top-tier commercial technologies into national defense applications.

As part of the initiative, Umbra will design, build, and launch a next-generation satellite constellation optimized for wide-area SAR coverage—particularly suited for search-and-find missions across open ocean and maritime domains. This advanced system is intended to support Combatant Commanders with rapid, agile intelligence collection—focusing especially on the Indo-Pacific region, a strategic priority for U.S. defense planning.

“This marks an important step in delivering our mission-critical solutions directly to the warfighter,” said Dr. Bonnie Kean, Director of Mission Solutions at Umbra. “We’ve spent the last four years working closely with the DoD, and we remain fully committed to delivering high-performance, reliable satellite systems that enhance national security.”

Umbra is widely recognized for its innovative SAR technology. In 2024, the company successfully released bistatic imagery from its tandem satellite constellation—paving the way for cooperative satellite operations that enhance moving target detection and wide-area surveillance.

This latest partnership with the DoD underscores Umbra’s role in strengthening the space-based intelligence infrastructure and reinforces the broader effort to bring leading-edge commercial space capabilities into the defense ecosystem. By moving beyond the prototype stage and into real-world applications, Umbra is helping ensure critical technologies reach the front lines – faster.

Starting today, au users can access the service free of charge, with no application required. The service is initially compatible with 50 smartphone models, allowing devices to connect directly to satellites—no need for ground infrastructure or cell towers.

Seamless Connectivity Anywhere Under the Sky

au Starlink Direct ensures that as long as there is a clear view of the sky, users can stay connected—even outside of traditional coverage areas. Whether deep in the mountains, offshore, on isolated islands, or at remote campsites, users can send and receive text messages, share their location, and receive real-time emergency earthquake alerts.

The service also integrates with AI technology: Android users can interact with Google’s Gemini assistant by sending text-based queries, enabling them to get help with tasks like information searches and navigation—even in off-grid environments.

Closing the Gap in National Coverage

While au’s population coverage exceeds 99.9%, Japan’s rugged terrain limits its geographical coverage to just 60%. au Starlink Direct aims to bridge this gap by providing satellite-based coverage across the entire country—connecting the remaining 40% where traditional networks struggle.

KDDI says this move is a critical step in its mission to “connect the unconnected—wherever you can see the sky.“

Global First for Asia

The launch marks a historic milestone not only for Japan but for the entire Asia region. Speaking on the occasion, Gwynne Shotwell, President & COO of SpaceX, said:

“I’m very excited to bring direct-to-cell phone connectivity to Japan through KDDI, the first in Asia and one of the first in the world. Both Starlink and direct-to-cell are game-changing technologies, making connecting the unconnected simple and bringing potentially life-saving capability to the people of Japan for disaster and other emergency responses.”

As connectivity becomes increasingly vital in disaster preparedness, remote operations, and everyday convenience, au Starlink Direct represents a major leap forward in resilient mobile infrastructure for Japan—and a glimpse into the future of global telecom.

The HL1100W joins the Eutelsat OneWeb user terminal lineup as a cost-effective and high-performance solution aimed at meeting rising global demand for more flexible and durable connectivity infrastructure. Designed for ease of deployment across a variety of environments—from buildings and trailers to onshore oil rigs—the HL1100W is immediately available for order and is backed by Hughes’ extensive experience in satellite communications.

“Connectivity today demands innovative, flexible solutions that can meet customers where they are,” said Royce Hernandez, Vice President of Mobility Product Management at Hughes. “The HL1100W is another milestone in our innovation journey, and we’re proud to bring this compact, powerful terminal to market in partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb.”

Manufactured at Hughes’ advanced facility in Germantown, Maryland, the HL1100W builds on the success of its predecessor, the HL1120W, and marks a significant step in expanding access to LEO-enabled broadband. Its compact form factor and rugged design allow for installation in diverse and often challenging operational settings, making it a strong fit for enterprise and government applications around the world.

“The HL1100W brings another dimension of connectivity to our product portfolio,” said Filipe De Oliveira, Vice President for Commercial at Eutelsat OneWeb. “As demand for low-latency, high-performance connectivity continues to grow, this antenna offers the speed and flexibility our global customers require. Our partnership with Hughes remains key in building the future of seamless global communications.”

With pre-produced inventory already in place, the HL1100W is positioned to make a significant impact in industries where resilient and affordable connectivity is essential. It also aligns with Hughes’ broader strategy to deliver managed LEO services for remote and mission-critical environments. As a strategic distribution partner for Eutelsat OneWeb, Hughes offers LEO capacity as a managed broadband solution, integrated into multi-orbit enterprise and mobility offerings, as well as specialized military networks and SD-WAN architectures.

Built on Aitech’s 30-year electronics experience and billions of kilometers flown in space, the IQSat is tiny enough to fit in the palm of a hand and can be deployed in constellations of five to thousands. IQSat provides previously impossible coverage and is strong enough to perform actionable patterns of life analysis quickly and regularly from any location on Earth.

“Space-based infrastructure addresses large issues and drives significant advances on Earth. The new IQSat platform is critical to space accessibility because it delivers low-cost, rapid deployment constellations that enable quick and frequent access to actionable information for a limitless number of applications,” said Pratish Shah, Aitech’s U.S. general manager. “Whether used for military and defense, environmental or agricultural applications, communications or scientific research, the flexibility, cost, and availability of a solution like IQSat have not existed before – providing more accessibility to the power of space.”

The IQSat uses Intuidex’s Watchman for Space product to provide Higher-Order Low-Resource Learning (HO-LRL) for rapid user-based modeling, detection and tracking, pattern of life and anomaly detection, and constellation operations. This enables new uses across various markets.

• Military and Defense: With a low probability of intercept and low probability of detection, IQSat can deliver critical information on threat locations, directions and velocities in any area of interest at tactically significant update rates directly to the warfighter
• Space Situational Awareness: With flexible sensor options and constellation configurations, IQSat brings low-cost capability to detect space debris to prevent space collisions and monitor orbital traffic, as well as detect changes in satellite trajectories or potential anti-satellite threats
• Space Habitat: Placed in the vicinity of Space Habitats, IQSat can deliver temperature, radiation levels and other data variables to evaluate structure integrity by detecting micro-meteorite impacts and material degradation or external surveillance to detect space debris collision threats
• Public Safety: A low-cost LEO constellation of IQSats can provide rapid detection of remote areas to identify natural disasters such as floods and fires; assist in remote search and rescue operations through detection of objects, locations and movement directly to the rescuer; or monitor infrastructure surveillance of dams, bridges and other structures
• Agriculture: IQSat can assist farmers by delivering fast and frequent insight on soil, crops, disease, weather and other critical variables to help improve crop output
• Science and Research: A constellation of IQSats can provide researchers and scientists with a low-cost solution for tracking unique weather patterns, monitoring wildlife migrations around the world, tracking ocean currents and wildlife and many more capabilities

The IQSat provides mission flexibility for quick and cost-effective constellation design, reducing delivery time and cost of custom sensing satellites and constellation configurations. Leveraging Watchman for Space, the IQSat platform dynamically updates its incident, event, object or threat detection priorities to meet ever-changing mission needs through uplinked software and configuration driven by users. Additionally, IQSat offers the industry’s first common payload interface designed to host multiple payloads on a single flexible electrical and mechanical interface, allowing for quick and standardized designs to reduce cost, NRE and time to launch.

We kick off with an introduction to Vittorio and his journey at the helm of Landlele. From there, we dive into the evolution of sustainable energy management across Europe – what policies, technologies, and trends are shaping the current landscape? Why is energy sustainability no longer just an environmental concern, but a strategic imperative for defense?

Vittorio sheds light on how European defense agencies are transitioning toward renewable energy and the hurdles they face along the way – from infrastructure challenges to operational risks. He also shares how Landlele is tackling these head-ons with innovative solutions that support not only defense but other critical sectors like space and maritime.

We’ll also hear a real-world case study showcasing Landlele’s impact in enhancing energy resilience and security on the ground. Finally, Vittorio looks ahead to the future of defense sustainability and how Landlele plans to stay at the forefront of this transformative movement.

Whether you’re in defense, energy, or simply curious about how technology is redefining resilience, this episode offers deep insights into the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and security.

Tune in to learn how the future of energy resilience is being built today.

Questions covered in this episode:

1. Landlele is positioned as a leader in sustainable energy solutions—can you share how your technology or innovations are helping defense and other critical sectors transition to greener energy?
2. Could you highlight a case study or real-world example where Landlele’s solutions have made a tangible impact in energy resilience and security?
3. Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest opportunities for sustainable energy in the defense sector, and how does Landlele plan to contribute to this future?

About Access Hub’s B2B Online Marketplace:

Access Hub’s online marketplace is the world’s only B2B online marketplace, designed to seamlessly connect suppliers and buyers across six pivotal industries: Aviation & Aerospace, Climate Tech, Defense, Maritime, Media & Broadcasting, and Space Technology. We are transforming how businesses discover opportunities and establish partnerships in both Upstream and Downstream markets.

Leverage Access Hub’s platform to elevate your business, connect with potential clients, and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving tech industries. Explore the opportunities that await and position your company for success in the global marketplace.

We kick off with an introduction to Vittorio and his journey at the helm of Landlele. From there, we dive into the evolution of sustainable energy management across Europe – what policies, technologies, and trends are shaping the current landscape? Why is energy sustainability no longer just an environmental concern, but a strategic imperative for defense?

Vittorio sheds light on how European defense agencies are transitioning toward renewable energy and the hurdles they face along the way – from infrastructure challenges to operational risks. He also shares how Landlele is tackling these head-ons with innovative solutions that support not only defense but other critical sectors like space and maritime.

We’ll also hear a real-world case study showcasing Landlele’s impact in enhancing energy resilience and security on the ground. Finally, Vittorio looks ahead to the future of defense sustainability and how Landlele plans to stay at the forefront of this transformative movement.

Whether you’re in defense, energy, or simply curious about how technology is redefining resilience, this episode offers deep insights into the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and security.

Tune in to learn how the future of energy resilience is being built today.

Questions covered in this episode:

1. Introduction to subject matter experts.
2. How has the landscape of sustainable energy management evolved in Europe, and what key policies or trends are currently shaping the industry?
3. Why is sustainable energy management critical for defense operations, and how are European defense agencies integrating renewable energy into their infrastructure?
4. What are some of the biggest challenges the defense sector faces in adopting sustainable energy solutions, and how can they be addressed?

About Access Hub’s B2B Online Marketplace:

Access Hub’s online marketplace is the world’s only B2B online marketplace, designed to seamlessly connect suppliers and buyers across six pivotal industries: Aviation & Aerospace, Climate Tech, Defense, Maritime, Media & Broadcasting, and Space Technology. We are transforming how businesses discover opportunities and establish partnerships in both Upstream and Downstream markets.

Leverage Access Hub’s platform to elevate your business, connect with potential clients, and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving tech industries. Explore the opportunities that await and position your company for success in the global marketplace.

We explore the challenges and opportunities of covering space developments in India, the need for transparency, and how independent voices can bridge the gap between complex technical advancements and public understanding. Join us as we discuss the future of space journalism, the rise of science communication careers, and what it takes to make an impact in this dynamic field.

Questions covered in the podcast:

1. What are some shifts that you have observed over the last 3-4 years and what are some shifts you anticipate going ahead?
2. What steps can private companies and government agencies take today to ensure that they start fostering a sustainable media ecosystem?
3. What message do you have for content creators who are passionate about the space industry but feel undervalued or pressured to work for free? How can they push back effectively?

About Access Hub’s B2B Online Marketplace:

Access Hub’s online marketplace is the world’s only B2B online marketplace, designed to seamlessly connect suppliers and buyers across six pivotal industries: Aviation & Aerospace, Climate Tech, Defense, Maritime, Media & Broadcasting, and Space Technology. We are transforming how businesses discover opportunities and establish partnerships in both Upstream and Downstream markets.

Leverage Access Hub‘s platform to elevate your business, connect with potential clients, and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving tech industries. Explore the opportunities that await and position your company for success in the global marketplace.