Space for Diplomacy

07. Space for Diplomacy: Susmita Mohanty with Ranjana Kaul

Dr. Susmita Mohanty in conversation with Dr. Ranjana Kaul, joining from New Delhi, about UN space treaties, challenges of consensus-building in UN-COPUOS, India’s space law journey, mega constellations, Artemis and space resources. Episode recorded in June 2026. Space for Diplomacy is a podcast featuring in-depth conversations with former heads of space agencies, senior diplomats, legal minds, and leading technologists at the forefront of innovation — exploring evolving themes including geopolitics, technology diplomacy, international cooperation, and all things space. ### Biography: Ranjana Kaul   Ranjana Kaul specializes in the international law of outer space, its application in national space policy and in operationalizing international treaty obligations through national space activities legislation. Her space law practice includes issues relating to space security, safety, and comprehensive advisory on commercial space and space-enabled businesses, including satellite telecommunications and satellite geospatial businesses. Vice President, International Institute of Space Law, Paris, she received the 2017 Distinguished Services Award for contribution to the development of national space law. Dr. Kaul’s general practice areas include company law, company incorporation, structuring, joint ventures and contracts, FDI, FE regulations, IPR, and dispute resolution across sectors. She has served as Counsel for the Union of India at the High Court of Delhi and Counsel for the State of Maharashtra in the Supreme Court of India. Dr Kaul is a Member of National Advisory Committee (NAC), Indian Space Association (ISpA); Chair, Committee on Space Law and Policy, Satellite Industries Association (SIA-INDIA); Member, WEF Global Future Council on Space Technologies; Founding Member-Secretary-General Spaceport Sarabhai (S2), the space-focused think tank; Member, Supreme Court of India Bar Association, High Court of Delhi Bar Association; and listed in the Forbes India Legal Powerlist 2022 of the top 100 individual lawyers. Prior to joining Dua Associates, she was in private practice and regularly assisted government in legislative drafting. She has been a consultant to the World Bank (India) and the Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations and served as a Member, Delhi State Commission for Women.

06. Space for Diplomacy: Susmita Mohanty with Juan Francisco Salazar

Dr. Susmita Mohanty in conversation with Juan Francisco Salazar, joining from Sydney, about socio-technical imaginaries, media anthropology, cultural responses, social studies, ethics, ecology in the context of Outer Space, and analogue extreme environments here on Earth - such as Antarctica and Atacama. ### Biography: Juan Francisco Salazar Juan Francisco Salazar is Director (Interim) of the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University in Australia where is Professor of Media and Environment and past Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2020-2024). He holds a PhD in Communication and Media from Western Sydney University and a Bachelor’s in Anthropology from the University of Chile. Juan’s latest books are the co-edited collection Routledge Handbook of Social Studies of Outer Space (Routledge 2023); the co-authored book Antarctic Cities: From Gateways to Global Custodians (University of Nebraska Press, 2026) and the authored book Space Futures Otherwise (forthcoming with Routledge). Juan’s latest film is Cosmographies (2025) a collaboration with artist Victoria Hunt and produced in collaboration with the Indigenous Lickanantay Community of Toconao in Chile.  Available at RAI Film: https://raifilm.org.uk/films/cosmographies/.  Recorded on 18 February 2026 Published on 28 March 2026

05. Space for Diplomacy: Susmita Mohanty with Victoria Samson

A conversation with Victoria Samson, joining from Washington DC, about Space Security and Sustainability, US Golden Dome missile defence, Nuclear weapons and arms control, Counterspace tech and the future of space warfare. Biography: Victoria Samson Victoria Samson is the Chief Director, Space Security and Stability for Secure World Foundation and has over twenty-five years of experience in military space and security issues. Before joining SWF, Ms. Samson served as a Senior Analyst for the Center for Defense Information (CDI), where she leveraged her expertise in missile defense, nuclear reductions, and space security issues to conduct in-depth analysis and media commentary. Prior to her time at CDI, Ms. Samson was the Senior Policy Associate at the Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers, a consortium of arms control groups in the Washington, D.C. area, where she worked with Congressional staffers, members of the media, embassy officials, citizens, and think-tanks on issues related to ballistic missile defense and nuclear weapons reduction. Before that, she was a researcher at Riverside Research Institute, where she worked on war-gaming scenarios for the Missile Defense Agency's Directorate of Intelligence. Ms. Samson holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in political science with a specialization in international relations from UCLA and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

04. Space for Diplomacy: Susmita Mohanty with Arup R. Dasgupta

A conversation with Dr. Arup R. Dasgupta about the impact of US sanctions and ITAR on India’s space program,  India’s focus on socio-economic development, India’s policy of non-alignment and strategic autonomy, ISRO’s cooperation with NASA, CNES, DLR, ESA and JAXA. Biography: Dr. Arup R. Dasgupta Mr. Dasgupta, retired from Indian Space Research Organisation as a Deputy Director, Satellite Communications and IT Applications Area of Space Applications Centre. Currently he is the Advisor, Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure in Geospatial World and an independent consultant. He has significant and original contributions in convergence of information and communications technologies in the area of geospatial systems and applications.  His current interests are Space Policy and convergence of space and information technologies for sustainable development of planet earth.  He is a recipient of the National Geomatics Award for Excellence for the year 2016 from the Indian Society of Geomatics, the Geospatial Lifetime Achievement Award in Geospatial Technologies for 2009, the National Geospatial Award for Excellence for 2005 from the Indian Society of Remote Sensing and the Astronautical Society of India Award for Space Science and Applications for the year 2000.  He is a Fellow of the Indian Society of Geomatics (ISG) and the IETE, India. He is a Life Senior Member of the IEEE USA and a member of several professional societies. Prof Dasgupta is a M.E. in Electrical Communications Engineering from the IISc, Bangalore, India and has worked in the Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Government of India, from November 1970 to March 2005. http://in.linkedin.com/in/arupdasgupta [http://in.linkedin.com/in/arupdasgupta] Recorded on 31 July 2025

03. Space for Diplomacy: Susmita Mohanty with Steven Freeland

A conversation with Prof. Steven Freeland about the relevance/obsolescence of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 1979 Moon Agreement, space resources, competing legal regimes, rules-based governance, geopolitical rivalry and lunar futures.  Biography: Steven Freeland Steven Freeland is Emeritus Professor of International Law at Western Sydney University, and Professorial Fellow at Bond University. He also holds Adjunct positions at various other Universities/Institutes in Copenhagen, Vienna, Toulouse, Hong Kong, Montreal, Kuala Lumpur, Vancouver, Mumbai and London.  Prior to becoming an academic, he had a 20-year career as an international commercial lawyer and an investment banker.  He was a Member of the Australian Space Agency Advisory Board (2020-2024) and has been an advisor to many Governments on issues relating to national space legislative frameworks and policy. He represents the Australian Government at UNCOPUOS meetings and is Chair of a 5-year ‘Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities’.  Among other appointments, he is a co-Principal of specialised space law firm Azimuth Advisory, a Member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on the Future of Space, a Member of the Abu Dhabi Space Debate Strategy Council, and an Honorary Director of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL). Recorded on 23 July 2025