Global Space Governance of Remote Sensing and the Needs of Developing States

Abstract Global space governance, having its unique features, refers to the complex of soft law and hard law rules, regulating the outer space activities, together with institutions involved in the space realm. Global space governance includes different space activities, including remote sensing. Remote sensing may play a vital role in the improvement of the socio-economic status of developing States. Given the inequality between developing States and developed ones on the one hand and due to the efforts made by the space law instruments to narrowing the gap between these two groups of States on the other hand, the approach of developing States to the role of remote sensing in the global space governance is to be taken into consideration. For this purpose, choosing the analytical research method, the main question is to what extent and how global space governance of remote sensing can serve the needs of developing States. In this respect, this article aims to mainly examine soft legal frameworks and mechanisms forming global space governance including the 2007 Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines and the 2018 Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities together with remote sensing trans-governmental networks.