A more useful starting point in answering questions such as this is to reframe space as infrastructure, akin to roads or power. Road systems and electricity grids, for example, don’t directly feed people, but they do contribute greatly to the ability to grow, move, store, and sell agricultural goods...

The benefits of space technology are substantial, most simply demonstrated by how it contributes to every UN Sustainable Development Goal. Most countries’ economies and industries are already dependent on satellites to some degree, for position, navigation, and timing data (transportation, power gri...

This week we welcome the release of a new CGD book: Relief Chief: A Manifesto for Saving Lives in Dire Times, by Mark Lowcock. A former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator—and a current Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow at CDG—Mark gives us an inside ...

Pretty much everyone following the war in Ukraine has seen satellite imagery of Russian convoys trundling across Ukraine, or read about Elon Musk’s delivery of 5,000+ Starlink satellite-internet receivers. News reports are backed up by a wealth of satellite data, which has short-circuited Russia’s a...

In a recent note, we asked whether IDA, the arm of the World Bank that provides concessional lending to the poorest countries, has the right approach for determining the balance between grants and loans which its recipients receive. We noted that IDA concessionality depends on the level of recipient...

Heightened food and energy prices are exacerbating humanitarian crises around the world. Resources and attention are being diverted to Ukraine, rather than expanded. Here, we identify existing and new countries at risk, and look at the major donors’ resources to respond to those needs. Policymakers...

Every nation on Earth uses space in some way. Satellite communications, GPS, and satellite remote sensing are woven into the fabric of the world economy, and more nations are starting to realize that it’s in their national interest to develop an endemic, foundational space capability.