Analysis of spaceflight activities’ impact on sustainable development in the global south

Abstract

Sustainable development is the current paradigm for development in the global south. Since 1976 nations of the global south have conducted space missions, e.g. with Earth observation satellites. Given the large effort related to such missions, this work investigates which impact on sustainable development in the global south spaceflight has. It is shown that the majority of Sustainable Development Goals can be addressed with space activities, e.g. by setting up satellite infrastructures for communication, creating businesses or supporting protection of ecosystems via Earth observation. Short term effects such as buildup of own industry in the sense of capability to built own satellites and infrastructure can be seen when analyzing satellite numbers and mission types. The reduction in launch costs and miniaturization of satellites in the 2010s have led to an increased number of satellites, as accessibility to space technology improved. This led to a thriving space industry in some nations of the global south e.g. Argentina, supporting infrastructure, economy and education. The continuity of the effects cannot yet be determined fully, due to the recency of most activities, even though for some nations, e.g. Brazil or Indonesia, activities have been continuous. Strategic integration of space activities into planned sustainable development could not be detected. Potential benefits were realized mostly via services and there is unused potential for technology application on Earth. Further research is needed into negative impacts of spaceflight, e.g. concerning pollution.