Space in Support of Global Threats and Crisis Response

Day: Tuesday 6 October
Time: 16:40 - 17:40
Location:

Today, Space has no longer only a supporting role, it is becoming central to plan strategic military operations, respond to crises, human-generated or natural, and protect critical infrastructure. All rely heavily on satellite-based positioning, secure communications, and real-time imagery, a dependence that introduces new layers of risk, from operational disruption to systemic failure.

This panel will look at how space technologies may evolve over the next decade, from more resilient satellite constellations to AI-enabled Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems and hardened communications. Will these advances reduce risk or simply redistribute it? It will also address a key geopolitical concern: are we gradually evolving towards the militarisation of space?

The panel will focus as well on the rapid expansion of commercial megaconstellations and the overlapping frontier between civilian and military capabilities. This trend raises important questions about the legal framework: when dual-use systems are targeted or disrupted, how should states respond?

At the same time, space assets are becoming more vulnerable: Jamming, spoofing, cyberattacks, and anti-satellite weapons are no longer theoretical—they represent real and growing threats to both military and civilian systems. States are responding by investing in resilience to mitigate these risks through redundancy, and rapid-launch capacity for example, though each approach introduces its own operational and financial risks. The discussion will also address the growing number of national Space Forces: do they help reduce strategic risk by clarifying roles and responsibilities, or does their existence increase the long-term risk of weaponisation?

Finally, drawing on recent conflicts where commercial imagery and satellite communications played a decisive role, the panel will consider how policymakers and legislators could help in define the use of space assets for humanitarian and crisis responses adapting existing frameworks — e.g. the UN Outer Space Treaty —or will a fundamentally new governance architecture be required?