After the plenary of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in June, the global space community typically looks to the 75th International Astronautical Congress in the fall for the next opportunity to come together to discuss the major issues facing the sector. But this overlooks another major UN-convened forum that took place in early August and that happens to be very relevant to the success of global space efforts: the 14th Session of the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). Beyond the alphabet soup, there is a disconnect between those who follow UN-COPUOS and those who follow UN-GGIM, resulting in an artificial gap between the space and geospatial communities that especially hurts emerging space ecosystems.
One of the striking features of the space programs taking root in many countries of the Global South is a different set of rationales and motivations — the driving “whys” motivating an interest in space technology — that contrast with the dominant narratives of classic space programs in the United States, Russia and China. In emerging space ecosystems, the societal applications overshadow the prestige-oriented efforts typically associated with space. For space programs in Latin America, for example, the concrete applications tied to the use of remote sensing data, telecommunications and position, navigation and timing (PNT) technologies serve as the primary justification for space investment. In fact, space leaders from the region frequently de-emphasize the symbolic aspects of space and point to the concrete applications — garnered by India and other leading space players — that make investing in space no longer optional. Amid challenging economic, social and political environments, Latin American nations look to space for providing tools to manage vast natural resources, address territorial disputes and manage deep vulnerabilities to extreme weather and climate events, to name a few.
Realizing these benefits, however, requires not just new technologies and capabilities that meet identified needs, but also the alignment of all aspects of space and terrestrial governance: policies, laws, regulations and institutional frameworks. In effect, the issues typically preventing the use of space-derived data and services (or geospatial information), often intended to be combined with data collected from other platforms and governed by different rules, are not just space-related, but more traditional legal, institutional and policy matters. These elements — so central to realizing the benefits of space investments include national security concerns, budget and procurement authorities, intellectual property rights, data licensing, liability issues and increasingly even privacy.
Nevertheless, the space and geospatial communities — and therefore the governance conversations they are having — are often disconnected. The space dialogue in emerging space ecosystems largely focuses on the technical and operational aspects, the development of national space laws and policies and the establishment of dedicated space institutions. Across Latin America, the scholarship on space law and policy is deep and it is evolving to include emerging issues like space resource extraction in a region with extensive expertise in mining. However, these discussions rarely include geospatial issues despite the stated focus on these applications and the central role they play in the national “why” of space. Mexico and Chile are among the few that, at least in Latin America, recognize the dependencies between these sectors. Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography has participated in space-related cooperation agreements, linking capacity-building efforts with Caribbean island nations with Mexico’s leadership in the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency.
Similarly, Chile’s Space Policy Council includes the Ministry of National Assets, which is responsible for the national geospatial data infrastructure known as IDE Chile. The 2023 draft national space policy draws attention to IDE Chile’s role in enabling access to geospatial information as a space-relevant function. Unfortunately, these important touch points do not show up consistently in conversations about the Mexican and Chilean space programs, despite the central role of geospatial applications in both.
Different considerations
Where a space person may think of the rules governing the development of sensors and the procedures related to get into orbit, they don’t tend to consider the complex legal issues that impact the collection, procurement and use of geospatial information. Similarly, they may ignore the myriad issues that impact the extent to which these data can be aggregated with other types of information, ultimately central to whether they can be used to inform decision-makers in the public and private sectors. These issues are becoming more complex as governments around the world develop laws, policies and regulations around the use of artificial intelligence, which will impact the larger data community, including geospatial. If it is difficult to purchase or use space data, whether it be for reasons of national security, procurement, institutional turf or licensing, then the millions invested in space will be of limited value and harder to sustain — both materially and politically.
These issues, which fall under the geospatial bucket and feature in the agenda of UN-GGIM more so than UN-COPUOS, are seen as largely separate from traditional space law and policy, despite being inextricably tied to the success of key space sectors. Within national governments, space-related issues are raised to technical and operational entities, while geospatial questions usually involve the geographical, statistical and economic organizations working independently of each other. This does not bode well for the design of governance systems intended to deliver societal benefits and improved tools for decision-making through space activities. As governments put together expert groups and solicit input from stakeholders to manage these activities, they may not realize that the limited focus on geospatial-related laws and policies risks perpetuating shortfalls that could harm long-term support for space investments in the future.
Ultimately, this disconnect impacts who participates in governance discussions, as well as which issues are raised during those discussions and how successfully they can be aligned — challenges that show up even in the U.S. The U.S. boasts the world’s leading space and geospatial ecosystems: complex webs of U.S. government agencies, private entities and academic institutions involved respectively in the study, conduct and management of space and geospatial activities. Experts all over the world observe the rules and procedures that govern these ecosystems, identifying what to adopt in their own countries to reap similar benefits.
This divide, while less visible, is still present. On the plus side, space and geospatial companies can mingle with their public sector counterparts such as the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Space Force at large trade shows and conferences. Interagency bodies like the Federal Geographic Data Committee and the U.S. Group on Earth Observations, meanwhile, include representatives from both space and geospatial agencies. But these interagency groups have limited authority to implement governance mechanisms across the whole of government. As a result, legal and policy discussions regarding the overlap between space and geospatial are infrequent, as can be seen by examining the challenges facing the U.S. commercial remote sensing sector. Even after a significant update of the “space-related” regulations (specifically the licensing of commercial remote sensing systems) that were long singled out as the major hurdle to the sector’s success, major players are shifting business plans to address the complexities of the geospatial market. Now companies appear largely focused on large government contracts from primarily defense and intelligence agencies, following slower than anticipated adoption by commercial customers and civil agencies.
Among the many issues involved in these trends are institutional gaps, such as overlapping or limited budget and legal authorities, that further complicate the extent to which governments can use or share data that they acquire. Some in the space community will point to broader data sharing or open licenses embrace freedom of use as the solution. But this user-centric approach to the issue tends to ignore not just competing policy goals — for example, supporting a globally competitive commercial remote sensing industry while also making procured data openly and freely available — but also the impact of existing laws and policies that go beyond space, such as intellectual property rights and the matters of national security and liability. Ultimately, the struggles that key commercial space companies are facing are not just a space problem and they require more than just a space solution.
Burgeoning space ecosystems may have the advantage when it comes to better connecting these two communities and the issues they care about as they build up governance frameworks. Often benefiting from fewer legacy structures to navigate or adapt, they can address inefficiencies observed in other countries. As countries in Latin America and beyond examine the policies, laws and institutions that will be involved in leveraging investments in critical space technologies, they should consider geospatial aspects and take advantage of the opportunity for alignment. Ultimately, if the primary rationale for a national space program rests on delivering insights and services tied to Earth observations, geospatial issues — which go beyond the traditional space issues — must be successfully integrated. This isn’t about minimizing the role of space; in fact, it’s about recognizing that leveraging space technologies requires successful integration with existing systems and structures so that these tools can serve those who need them the most.
Kevin Pomfret is a partner at Williams Mullen law firm, founder of the Centre for Spatial Law and Policy and author of “Geospatial Law, Policy and Ethics: Where Geospatial Technology is Taking the Law.”
Laura Delgado López researched Latin American space activities as a Visiting Fellow at the Americas Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Her work is summarized in a CSIS Policy Brief, “Orbital Dynamics: The Domestic and Foreign Policy Forces Shaping Latin American Engagement in Space.”
