Dr. Susmita Mohanty is a celebrated spaceship designer, entrepreneur, and space diplomat who seamlessly straddles the worlds of art, technology, business, and architecture. A protégé of the late science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, her career is defined by visionary leadership in the global aerospace industry and a commitment to blurring the boundaries between science fiction and reality through her orbital enterprises.
Mohanty is the only space entrepreneur in the world to have co-founded companies on three different continents: MOONFRONT (San Francisco), LIQUIFER Systems Group (Vienna), and EARTH2ORBIT (Bangalore). Her latest venture, Spaceport SARABHAI, is India’s first dedicated space think tank, with a mission to grow the body of knowledge informing critical areas of space law and policy. Prior to her entrepreneurial endeavors, she worked on the International Space Station Program at Boeing and on Shuttle-Mir missions at NASA Johnson.
As a leading NewSpace expert and space diplomat, she promotes cooperation between countries and advises investors and policymakers on the emerging commercial space economy, particularly concerning space safety, security, and sustainability in a volatile geopolitical landscape. Her dedication has been recognized with the International Achievement Award on Capitol Hill for promoting international cooperation through space ventures. A cosmopolite who has visited the Arctic and Antarctica, Dr. Mohanty holds advanced degrees from the International Space University and the Chalmers University of Technology. As an internationally celebrated keynote speaker and thought leader, she brings her unique interdisciplinary expertise—which has earned her the title of BBC 100 Women laureate—to global forums, inspiring audiences with her belief that international collaboration in critical tech is the best way to ensure the world doesn’t go off course.
