Book chapter 2026
The Oxford Handbook of the New Space Economy Oxford University Press · pp. 604–626
Satellite applications can contribute directly and indirectly to sustainable development, but realizing their full impact requires integration across satellite technologies, digital tools, governance and equitable access.
Satellite data increasingly supports services in agriculture, healthcare, energy, transportation and other non-space sectors. This chapter provides a structured overview of how Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation and Satellite Communication applications contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It distinguishes direct from indirect impact, illustrates how different technologies support different sustainability needs, and examines the technological, economic, governance and equity challenges that can limit adoption.
How do Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation and Satellite Communication applications contribute directly and indirectly to the Sustainable Development Goals, and what challenges and opportunities shape their adoption?
The chapter combines a structured synthesis of satellite technologies and sustainability literature with a qualitative assessment grounded in more than 600 satellite-based applications previously scrutinized by the authors and in field immersion through the Space Economy Observatory. Applications are examined through thematic analysis, distinguishing direct impact, indirect impact and no impact on SDGs and their targets. Real application examples are used to illustrate mechanisms, opportunities and limitations.
Earth Observation provides repeated information about the physical environment, Satellite Navigation enables positioning, mobility and timing services, and Satellite Communication connects people and assets where terrestrial networks are weak. Their sustainability contribution therefore depends on the problem and the information or connectivity function required.
The chapter describes the New Space Economy as increasingly data-driven: satellite observations, positioning and communications can be combined with big data, machine learning, cloud and edge computing to create more useful services and strengthen direct and indirect contributions to SDG targets.
The benefits of satellite applications are constrained by unequal access between developed and developing countries, regulatory fragmentation, privacy and dual-use concerns, and environmental impacts such as space debris and critical-material consumption. Sustainable deployment therefore requires governance as well as technological progress.
The chapter connects the Space Economy to a widely used global policy framework and explains the mechanisms through which satellite applications can support sustainable development rather than simply asserting that space creates societal benefits. It also makes clear that direct service effects and indirect monitoring effects are analytically different.
For policymakers, agencies and companies, the chapter identifies where integration across EO, navigation, communications and digital technologies can expand impact, while highlighting the access, regulatory and sustainability conditions that need to be addressed if those benefits are to be distributed more broadly.
Paravano, A., Locatelli, G., & Trucco, P. (2026). Impacts of Satellite-based Applications on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In A. P. D’Costa (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the New Space Economy (pp. 604–626). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198881049.013.0039
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