Introduction
Human-made satellites have become an integral part of the global economy, providing practical capabilities that many people use daily to navigate, communicate, and understand the environment. Position, navigation, and timing data from satellite constellations are essential for banking, utilities, and transportation. Remote sensing data informs weather prediction, research, and intelligence. The space segment of the telecommunications network extends telephony and internet access far beyond the reach of terrestrial systems like wires and optical fiber. In 2021, a United Nations resolution formally recognized that space science and technology contribute immeasurably to economic growth and quality of life worldwide.
Despite this clear connection between space applications and national development, a common misconception persists: that building domestic space capabilities is a luxury reserved for wealthy nations, a herculean and cost-prohibitive task. The reality is quite different. While the scale of investment varies, even a modest national space program can generate an outsized return, supporting every one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The challenge for many planners and policymakers is not a lack of technological options, but a perceptual barrier that frames space as a cost rather than an investment. The conversation often defaults to a false choice, such as “space or hunger,” pitting a futuristic concept against immediate human needs.
A more accurate framing positions space capability as a form of modern infrastructure, akin to roads or a power grid. Roads do not directly feed people, but they are essential for growing, moving, and selling agricultural goods. Likewise, space infrastructure provides the tools to make the delivery of essential services more efficient, resilient, and far-reaching. This report offers a pragmatic resource for national planners on the why, what, and how of building a foundational space capability. It seeks to demonstrate that a sustainable, strategically designed program can protect national interests, unlock economic potential, and enable full participation in the global community. The goal is to move the discussion from whether a nation should engage with space to how it can best leverage space to meet its unique priorities.
Why Space is a National Priority
For any government, especially one with finite resources, every investment must be justified against competing priorities. The case for developing a national space capability rests on four interconnected arguments: space is already an unseen pillar of national infrastructure, it is a powerful catalyst for economic growth, it enhances national security and sovereignty, and it provides a necessary voice in the global governance of a shared domain. Recognizing these realities is the first step toward building a coherent national strategy.
An Unseen Infrastructure
Even without a formal space program, every country today depends on satellite services. This reliance is woven into the fabric of modern life and critical infrastructure, often in ways that are not immediately obvious. Acknowledging and managing this dependency is a matter of national resilience.
Positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services, provided by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations like GPS, are perhaps the most ubiquitous example. These systems provide the precise timing data that synchronizes telecommunication networks, enables financial transactions at banks and on stock markets, and helps manage the flow of electricity through power grids. They are the foundation for modern aviation, shipping, and ground transport systems. Increasingly, GNSS data are also becoming the international standard for land surveys, property registration, and urban development. These signals, however, are faint and can be disrupted, accidentally or intentionally. A software glitch or localized jamming can have cascading effects, interrupting everything from emergency services communications to port operations. Without a national capacity to understand these risks and implement mitigation measures, such as using multiple GNSS constellations or installing ground-based backups for vital infrastructure, a country remains vulnerable.
Similarly, remote sensing, or Earth observation, provides data that underpins routine but vital services. The most prominent is weather forecasting. Most nations rely on data shared through the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which coordinates a global network of hundreds of Earth observation satellites. The loss of this shared resource would severely curtail the accuracy of weather forecasts worldwide, with significant implications for agriculture, transportation, and disaster preparedness. Beyond weather, remote sensing data is a public good used for countless applications, from monitoring deforestation and water resources to supporting urban planning. International mechanisms like the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters provide free satellite imagery to countries affected by natural disasters, but a nation must have the internal capacity to request, receive, and use these products effectively.
Finally, the “space segment” of telecommunications is an indispensable part of the global network. While undersea cables and terrestrial fiber carry the bulk of data traffic, satellites provide essential connectivity for landlocked countries, remote regions, and island states that cannot easily access subsea cables. They also offer a vital layer of resilience. When natural disasters or conflicts damage terrestrial infrastructure, satellites can become the only link to the outside world, as was seen in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. A nation that fails to integrate this space segment into its telecommunications policy may miss opportunities to connect underserved populations and will lack a robust backup during a crisis.
A Catalyst for Economic Growth
Actively leveraging space capabilities can directly support economic development and improve governance. Between 2014 and 2019, the most common reason given by 16 countries for establishing a space agency was to foster economic growth. This is because space is a key building block of the modern digital ecosystem.
Access to affordable and reliable broadband internet is strongly linked to economic growth. Satellite communications are an increasingly viable option for extending connectivity to the “last mile”—remote, sparsely populated, or difficult-to-reach locations where laying fiber is not economical. This connectivity enables participation in the digital economy through remote education, telemedicine, digital financial services, and e-commerce. It lowers transaction costs and gives marginalized groups access to new markets and information. A government can use this expanded reach for e-governance, making administrative services like land registration or business licensing more efficient and transparent. India’s BharatNet program, which uses satellites and solar-powered ground stations to connect thousands of remote village-level government offices, is a powerful example of this in action.
Beyond just using services, a national program can position a country to participate in the global space economy itself, an industry projected to be worth over $1 trillion by 2030. This does not require building rockets. The space value chain is long and diverse, with entry points in software development, data analytics, ground station services, and the manufacturing of specialized components. Government programs often act as the catalyst for this private sector growth by serving as an early, reliable customer—an “anchor tenant”—for new services. For example, a government contract for a local company to provide satellite-based crop monitoring services can spur the growth of a domestic geospatial industry. This creates high-tech jobs and develops a skilled workforce that can then compete for regional and international business.
Enhancing Security and Sovereignty
National security and the desire for technological independence have long been drivers of space development. The capabilities that support economic activity are often dual-use, meaning they have direct applications for security and defense. Satellites are used for maritime domain awareness, surveillance of borders and coastlines, and providing secure communications for military and police forces in remote areas.
A key motivation for developing domestic capability is to achieve “technical independence.” This is the desire to avoid over-reliance on a single foreign partner for critical information and to have sovereign control over data related to national security. As one South African official noted, there is a widespread concern among emerging nations that “foreign countries are more aware of what is in our back yard than we do because of satellite capabilities.” This information asymmetry has direct consequences. An Australian agricultural expert expressed a similar sentiment, stating that other nations know more about Australia’s wheat production than it does, which has commercial implications in global markets.
In an era of widespread satellite imagery, a nation that cannot effectively use space-based information to understand its own territory is at a strategic disadvantage. This concept of “radical transparency” means that a country’s activities and resources can be monitored not only by other states but also by corporations, non-governmental organizations, and even criminal groups. Therefore, building a national space program is not just an offensive measure for projecting influence; it is a defensive necessity. It is about developing the capacity to understand what others can see, to counter disinformation, to manage the national narrative, and to protect economic resources like fisheries and forests from illicit activity. The Philippine Space Agency, for instance, was established with a clear mandate to use space capabilities to protect national sovereignty through maritime surveillance.
A Voice in Global Governance
Outer space is a global commons, and certain resources within it are finite. The orbital slots in the geosynchronous arc, which are ideal for communications satellites, are limited. The radio frequency spectrum used for transmitting data is also a limited resource that must be carefully managed to avoid interference. As the number of satellites in orbit grows exponentially, the risk of collisions and the proliferation of space debris become a threat to the usability of space for everyone.
These shared challenges require international coordination and governance. The primary forums for these discussions are the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), which develops space law and norms for responsible behavior, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which allocates orbital slots and radio frequencies. Decisions made in these forums have direct consequences for every nation’s ability to access and use space.
A country without a national space program or a designated focal point for space affairs lacks the coordinated expertise to effectively represent its interests in these venues. It cannot contribute to the development of rules that will govern space traffic management or debris mitigation, nor can it advocate for equitable access to spectrum resources that may be vital for its future telecommunications growth. Establishing a national space program provides the institutional anchor for this participation. It ensures that a country has a seat at the table where the future rules of the road for space are being written, allowing it to protect its national interests and contribute to the long-term sustainability of space activities for all.
What is National Space Capability?
The concept of “space capability” has evolved. Historically, it was measured by a state’s ability to design, build, and launch its own satellites. This linear, hardware-intensive path was prohibitively expensive for most nations. Today, the rise of a vibrant commercial sector—often called “New Space”—has created a new paradigm. Space is now available “as a service,” allowing countries to buy access to satellite data, broadband connectivity, and analytical tools without owning the hardware in orbit. This shift makes space far more accessible and allows emerging states to pursue a more strategic, flexible path to developing their capabilities.
The Space Capability Ladder: A New Path for Development
A useful way to visualize this new approach is the “Space Capability Ladder.” This model reorders the traditional development path, prioritizing the establishment of a solid foundation before considering more complex, upstream activities. The ladder is divided into two main sections: “Foundation” and “Options.”
The foundation is not about launching satellites. It’s about building the human and institutional capacity to effectively use the space resources that are already available. This includes:
- Preparation: Mapping the country’s existing use of space applications (like weather forecasting and GPS) and identifying key stakeholders across government, industry, and academia.
- Establishing a Government Space Office: Creating a focal point with a dedicated staff, budget, and a clear plan.
- Establishing Foundational Space Capability: Developing the core governance functions needed to manage national space activities.
- Cultivating a Space and Data Ecosystem: Fostering a domestic environment where the private sector, universities, and civil society can innovate and grow.
Only after this foundation is in place should a country strategically consider the “Options” on the upper rungs of the ladder. These options, which can be pursued in any order based on national priorities, include developing domestic capacity in specific areas like satellite applications, ground equipment manufacturing, satellite manufacturing, or even launch services. A country might choose to “procure” a satellite with training services, build one collaboratively with a partner, or eventually build one entirely in-country. This model provides maximum flexibility, allowing a nation to focus its limited resources on areas that offer the best return on investment.
The Four Pillars of a Foundational Program
A new space program, focused on building this foundation, does not need a large staff or a massive budget. Its initial role is one of governance and coordination, not direct operations. Its work rests on four essential pillars that enable a state to manage its engagement with space effectively.
A space office embodying these pillars acts as a nerve center. It provides technical advice to other ministries, helping them understand how satellite data can improve their work. It advocates for the “localization” of technology, ensuring that applications are tailored to the country’s unique geography, culture, and economy. It coordinates activities to avoid duplication of effort, such as multiple government agencies buying the same satellite imagery. And it provides the regulatory framework and international representation needed to attract investment and protect national interests.
Key Application Areas in Detail
To understand how these foundational pillars function in practice, it’s helpful to look at the two primary areas of space application: geospatial services and telecommunications.
Geospatial and Positioning Services
Geospatial activity involves using remote sensing and PNT data to create products and services. This capability can be broken down into a value chain of different activities, each requiring different skills and institutional support. At one end are researchers and scientists who investigate new ways to use sensor data, ideally focusing on locally relevant questions. A significant research gap exists globally because most geospatial research originates from a few developed countries and is optimized for their environments, such as monitoring large, single-crop farms. An emerging nation needs domestic researchers who can develop methods tailored to its own agricultural practices, like small, mixed-crop farming.
Further along the chain are developers and analysts who use existing data and tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create platforms and products. This could involve building a national dashboard to monitor deforestation or developing a mobile app that gives farmers information about soil moisture. The most accessible end of the chain is the widespread use of geospatial products by the general public, from weather forecasts on television to navigation apps on smartphones.
A foundational space program supports this entire chain. It can fund local research, provide open access to government-held data to spur private sector innovation, and promote digital literacy so that more citizens can use these powerful tools.
The Space Segment of Telecommunications
The space segment—the satellites and ground stations—is a critical component of a country’s telecommunications infrastructure. Satellites work in concert with undersea cables and terrestrial fiber to move data. They are particularly important for connecting the national “core network” to smaller communities (the “middle mile”) and for delivering service directly to end-users in remote areas (the “last mile”).
Developing this capability is not just about hardware; it’s about policy and regulation. A national space office or communications ministry must manage the allocation of radio spectrum to avoid interference between satellite operators and terrestrial mobile networks. It must also establish a clear and efficient licensing process for companies that want to build ground stations or offer satellite broadband services. A transparent and predictable regulatory environment is one of the most powerful tools a government has to attract private investment and accelerate the rollout of affordable internet access. This work is done in coordination with the ITU, which manages the global framework for spectrum and orbit use.
How to Build a National Space Program
Establishing a national space program is not a one-time event but a continuous, iterative process. There is no single correct path; the method must be shaped by a country’s unique history, culture, and political realities. However, a structured approach can guide planners from an initial vision to a sustainable, high-impact program. This approach can be visualized as a cycle, ensuring that the program remains adaptable and focused on delivering tangible outcomes.
The Program Development Cycle: An Iterative Approach
Program design and management should be envisioned as a repeating cycle with sequential phases:
- Solicit Initial Guidance and Build a Planning Team: The “on-ramp” to the cycle, where national leadership provides a vision and appoints a dedicated team.
- Evaluate: The team assesses the country’s needs and existing capabilities.
- Design or Adapt: The team develops or refines the national space policy and strategy.
- Take Action: The strategy is implemented through specific projects and activities.
- Monitor: Progress is tracked using predefined indicators.
- Evaluate and Learn: The results are analyzed to understand what worked, what didn’t, and why. This learning feeds back into the “Design or Adapt” phase, starting the cycle anew.
This iterative model, favored by the agile “NewSpace” industry, accepts that no plan is perfect and that circumstances will change. It builds in a mechanism for continuous improvement, allowing the program to learn from both successes and setbacks.
Phase One: Evaluation and Assessment (“Where Are We Now?”)
Before a strategy can be designed, planners must have a clear picture of the current landscape. This phase answers two fundamental questions: “What space capabilities do we need?” and “What space capabilities and capacity do we have now?”
The first step is to identify national priorities. These are often articulated in existing national development plans, economic strategies, and commitments to international frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals. By reviewing these documents, the planning team can connect potential space applications directly to the country’s most pressing challenges, whether it’s food security, disaster management, or economic diversification.
The next step is to map the existing space ecosystem. Even without a formal program, space-related expertise often exists in pockets across the country. The military may have a mapping office that uses satellite imagery. The communications ministry regulates satellite operators. Universities may have departments conducting geospatial research. The private sector may include companies that sell satellite dishes or use GPS for logistics. A “systems map” is a visual tool that helps identify these actors and understand the relationships between them. This inventory reveals hidden strengths and prevents the new program from reinventing the wheel.
With this information, the team can conduct a strategic analysis using a tool like the SWOT matrix (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). This helps organize the findings and pinpoint the most promising areas for action. For example, the African Union’s SWOT analysis identified “a young population that could be trained” as a key opportunity and “brain drain of core skills” as a major threat, highlighting the critical need for a sustainable human capital strategy.
Phase Two: Designing the Program (“Where Do We Want to Go?”)
This phase translates the analysis from the evaluation into a coherent plan of action. The key outputs are a national space policy, a national space strategy, and a plan for building the necessary institutional support.
A space policy is a high-level document, approved by national leadership, that states the country’s vision and goals for space. India’s vision, for example, is to “Harness space technology for national development, while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration.” A space strategy is a more detailed, time-bound roadmap that specifies who will do what, when, and with what resources to achieve the policy’s goals.
A critical component of any strategy is a plan for building human capital. This must be a long-term effort. Simply training a small team for a single project is not sustainable; if there are no follow-on opportunities, that hard-won talent will likely leave for jobs abroad. A successful strategy creates a pipeline, working with universities to develop relevant curricula and fostering a domestic ecosystem with enough private and public sector opportunities to retain skilled professionals. Vietnam’s “Dragon Roadmap” provides a model, using a series of progressively more complex satellite projects with an international partner to steadily build and employ a domestic team of engineers and scientists.
Finally, the design must account for institutional support. This includes securing a budget line, defining the legal structure of the space office, and establishing clear rules for government activities, such as how remote sensing data will be procured, stored, and shared. For example, planners must decide whether to build a national data center or use commercial cloud services, a decision with long-term cost and security implications.
Phase Three: Implementation and Monitoring (“How Do We Get There and Know We’ve Arrived?”)
With a strategy in place, the program moves to implementation. A highly effective approach for a new program is to use small, focused projects to drive progress. A project to monitor illegal fishing or map flood risk can deliver a tangible benefit that demonstrates the value of space capabilities to policymakers and the public. These “quick wins” build momentum and support for the program’s longer-term goals. Each project also serves as a practical exercise, revealing what policies, regulations, and skills need to be developed and strengthening the overall capacity of the ecosystem.
To ensure the program stays on track, planners must define how they will measure success. A logic model is a powerful tool for this. It creates a clear, visual chain of causality from the program’s inputs (resources like funding and staff) and activities (like offering scholarships or running a training workshop) to its outputs (the direct, quantifiable results, like the number of graduates) and its ultimate outcomes (the short-, medium-, and long-term changes the program hopes to achieve, such as a more skilled workforce or better disaster management).
Progress toward these outcomes is tracked using indicators—specific, observable, and measurable facts. An indicator for a human capital program might be “a 25% increase in original research using remote sensing data published by national universities.” By monitoring these indicators, program managers can gather the data needed for the final phase of the cycle: evaluation and learning. This allows them to see if their strategy is working and to make evidence-based adjustments as they move forward.
For an emerging state, this entire collaborative process is arguably as important as the final strategy document itself. The act of bringing together different ministries, universities, and private companies to conduct a systems map or a SWOT analysis builds the institutional relationships and shared understanding that are the true foundation of a sustainable program. The experience of South Africa, whose policy development took six years, is instructive. The process was considered as valuable as the policy itself because it built a broad, cross-departmental base of support that has allowed the program to endure through political changes. The real product of this initial effort is not just a document; it’s a resilient national coalition for space.
Fueling the Space Ecosystem: Funding and Partnerships
A national space program requires resources, but it does not have to rely solely on the government treasury. A savvy program can leverage a wide range of domestic policy tools and international partnerships to fuel its growth and the development of the wider space ecosystem. The key is to have a clear domestic strategy, which becomes the magnet for attracting external support.
Domestic Levers for Growth
A government’s first responsibility is to fund the overhead costs of its own space office—the personnel, facilities, and basic operations. Beyond this direct funding, it can act as a powerful catalyst for the national ecosystem using several policy levers.
One of the most effective tools is government procurement. By acting as an early and reliable customer for space-related services, the government can create a stable market that encourages private sector investment. A contract for a local startup to provide satellite-based infrastructure monitoring, for example, can give that company the revenue and credibility it needs to grow and seek other customers.
Other domestic tools include offering financial incentives like tax breaks or subsidies for space-related research and development. The government can sponsor prizes to spur innovation around a specific challenge, or it can support accelerator and incubator programs that help new companies survive the early “valley of death” before they generate revenue.
Perhaps most importantly, the government can create a favorable regulatory environment. Policies that make the process of licensing radio spectrum or obtaining permission to operate a ground station transparent, efficient, and predictable reduce barriers to entry and make the country a more attractive place for both domestic and international companies to invest.
The Role of International Collaboration
No nation develops its space capabilities in a vacuum. International partnerships are essential for accessing technology, training, data, and funding. The landscape of potential partners is diverse.
Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) like the World Bank and regional development banks (e.g., the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank) are a major source of support. While they rarely fund a “space program” directly, they frequently finance large-scale development projects in areas like agriculture, water management, and disaster risk reduction. A national space office can work with other ministries to integrate space applications into these projects, ensuring that the use of remote sensing or satellite communications is included in the project’s design and budget.
Bilateral cooperation with established space-faring nations like the United States, China, the European Union, Japan, or India can provide rapid access to advanced capabilities and training. Many of these nations have development-focused space programs and are actively seeking partners. Regional space agencies, such as the European Space Agency (ESA) or the African Space Agency (AfSA), offer a model for pooling resources and sharing the costs and benefits of space infrastructure among multiple countries.
Finally, the United Nations system is a critical resource for emerging space nations. The UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) provides extensive capacity-building programs, legal advisory services for drafting national space law, and initiatives like UN-SPIDER, which provides satellite data for disaster management. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the essential forum for managing the spectrum and orbital resources that make satellite services possible.
A well-defined national strategy is the key that unlocks these international opportunities. Funders and partners are far more likely to support a country that has a clear plan connecting space capabilities to specific, measurable development outcomes. A logic model showing how a satellite-based drought monitoring system will improve food security is a much more compelling proposal than a generic request for funding to “build a space program.” The hard work of domestic strategic planning is the essential prerequisite for successful international engagement.
Summary
The ability to access and use space is no longer a distant ambition but a present-day necessity for any nation seeking to secure its economy, protect its people, and chart a course for sustainable development. Space capabilities have become a form of essential infrastructure, underpinning telecommunications, finance, and public safety. The central argument of this report is that building this capability is within reach of every nation, provided the approach is strategic, methodical, and tailored to local needs.
The journey begins with a crucial shift in perspective: from viewing space as a prohibitive cost to recognizing it as a high-return investment in national resilience and efficiency. A successful program is not defined by launching rockets but by building a solid foundation of governance. This foundation rests on the ability to provide expert advice, coordinate across sectors, manage programs effectively, and represent national interests on the global stage.
The path to building this capability is an iterative cycle of evaluation, design, action, and learning. By first understanding its own needs and mapping its existing strengths, a country can design a focused strategy that uses targeted projects to build capacity incrementally. This process of “localization”—of adapting global tools to solve local problems—is the core of a sustainable program. The collaborative effort of creating this strategy is as valuable as the document itself, as it forges the institutional connections and political support needed for long-term success.
Finally, a well-structured national program becomes a magnet for support. A clear vision, tied to tangible development goals, unlocks opportunities for collaboration with international partners, development banks, and the private sector. By following a deliberate and pragmatic framework, an emerging state can move from being a passive user of space to a thoughtful consumer and, ultimately, a contributor to the vibrant and growing global space economy. The tools are available; the challenge is to build the national will and wisdom to use them.
