Satellite Infrastructures and Law in the Making of Planetary Knowledge

Imaginations of Planet Earth as-a-whole—that is, Earth conceived in planetary terms by wide publics—have been shaped over several decades by the growing capabilities of artificial Earth satellites to image the whole Earth, to specify all locations, and to integrate the Earth’s diverse orbital space with everyday human activities. Different Earth orbits are becoming more densely used, more securitized, more intensely managed from Earth, and more integral to activities on Earth.

This Article focuses on two categories of satellite systems that contribute directly to planetary knowledge, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Earth Observation Satellite Systems (EOSS). GNSS and EOSS have earlier military and intelligence origins, but were readily associated with 1990s-type “globalization”—the encouragement of trade and communication, and the monitoring and discouragement of illicit activities and flows. More recently both have also been integral to a process of “planetization”—the construction and wide diffusion of understandings of Earth in planetary terms, as a shared and contingent habitat with many dependencies. This Article traces the policies and conditions under which data from these satellite systems has become (for the time being) open and widely available to general publics, and the basis for “planetary” infrastructural development and dependence.

We argue that the major GNSS have all become “infrastructural”: broadcasting without charge freely available signals which enable timing, positioning, and navigation via receivers and downstream products for billions of users, as well as a fast-increasing range of important environmental uses. EOSS supply images and other data which flow into scientific models of Earth systems and many business and governmental use cases—with or without charge or restriction, depending on the provider and on government controls. EOSS have become, or are becoming, infrastructural for many forms of planetary knowledge. However, the provision of comprehensive, free-to-all, and highly reliable GNSS and EOSS data and services is not legally embedded or guaranteed, and it is far from assured. Both are “dual use” and vulnerable to kinetic or cyber disruption in conflict. GNSS are government-provided but readily spoofed or jammed, and governments are seeking to develop more resilient alternatives. EOSS are often privately owned or government-controlled, and the data or downstream products are increasingly liable to private enclosure or to government restriction on release. Questions about their assured availability and extension swirl together with renewed nationalism, military prioritization, and contestations of “planetary” politico-legal thinking and its imaginaries. It is now necessary to “think infrastructurally” about legal, policy, and economic means to ensure the reliable and universal availability, sustenance, and supplementation of these important foundations of planetary knowledge.

This paper was presented at the CJIL 2025 Symposium, Technological Innovation in Global Governance, held in January 2025, and is published in Chicago Journal of International Law, Volume 26, Issue 1 (2025).

Satellite Internet and Laser Links: Are Universal FSO Standards Needed?

Satellite Internet constellations (“SICs”) promise to connect the world, finally delivering on the promise of global connectivity. This Note explains why SICs will only achieve their maximum potential with the adoption of free space optical (“FSO”) communication technologies, which provide massive bandwidth and interference benefits over radio. FSO will yield the greatest possible benefits with standardization through a formal standard development organization. Standardized, with the ability to communicate, collaborate, and consolidate, SICs will provide the greatest coverage and fastest speeds to their consumers. While SIC consolidation will proffer many benefits, it will also bear risks, as large players exert outsized market influence and reduce innovation. Geopolitical competition will make universal standards unlikely, necessitating national and international collaboration.

This paper originated in the 2023 IILJ Space and Planetary Colloquium. It was published in the NYU Journal of Legislation & Public Policy, Volume 26, Issue 4.

Empowering Law in Earth System Models

This blog explores the power relation between law and science in global environmental governance, by resorting to Global Data Law and Infrastructure as Regulation (InfraReg) project at NYU Law. The identification and understanding of global environmental crises has predominantly depended on science, and more recently, data-driven approaches.

Historically, international environmental law has primarily focused on institutional support for environmental science rather than engaging in the substantive processes of its norm creation. However, a paradigm shift is needed. Environmental physical models often form the condition to and/or couple with social system models, directing the creation of climate change scenarios, especially those by the IPCC. These scenarios are widely embraced by governments and corporations with gigantic climate governance impact, while evading scrutiny from international law.

Emerging proposals advocate for examining these processes through the right to science, as enshrined in the ICESCR, and for integrating broader concepts of climate and energy justice. This blog argues that, in addition, an overlooked perspective lies in the inequities of data generation and infrastructure distribution. Given the complexities and chaotic nature of Earth systems, these disparities create profound injustices that cannot be sufficiently addressed through participation and due process reforms. Instead, mobilization of various regimes of international law and institutions is a must.

This piece is part of the American Branch’s first blogging symposium, examining the ILW 2024 theme of ‘Powerless law or law for the powerless?’ from an International Environmental and Energy Law perspective. The blog post builds on insights developed in GGLT’s Planetary Futures project.