Satellite infrastructures, earth-space sustainability, and the Global South

Satellite infrastructures are indispensable elements of Earth-Space sustainability, including in a North-South context. Using social network analysis, we assess the positionality of the Global South in organizational partnerships in the satellite sector. Using data on satellite launches registered between 1998 and 2023, we find that the Global South, with the notable exception of China, is virtually excluded from satellite manufacturing and exerts only marginal operational control. Current patterns of production and control grant a small number of industrialized countries, plus China, considerable structural power for appropriating satellite-related sustainability benefits and for shaping political outcomes in the issue area. We highlight the need to align satellite infrastructures with Earth-Space sustainability and broader norms of global justice, including by strengthening technology access and transfer, and by improved satellite data-sharing.