From GPS to global connectivity: Earth's growing reliance on space technology

March 3, 2026

Corrin Miller, Associate, CMS UK

In today’s interconnected world, space-based technology has become an essential yet largely invisible backbone of daily life. We rarely stop to think about satellites when a smartphone map pinpoints our location, a weather app predicts rain, or a card payment clears in seconds. Yet all of these everyday conveniences depend on complex systems orbiting hundreds or thousands of kilometres above Earth. Satellites enable navigation, telecommunications, climate observation, and global finance – quietly synchronising and supporting modern society. As we move further into the 21st century, our reliance on space technology is only deepening, bringing both transformative opportunities and an urgent need for effective governance to ensure space remains safe, sustainable, and accessible.

Space technology in everyday life: The invisible infrastructure

Space technology is so pervasive that it is often taken for granted. Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the United States’ GPS, Europe’s Galileo, and similar systems operated by other nations, guide billions of users every day. Whether navigating city streets, coordinating global shipping routes, or managing air traffic, precise positioning and timing signals from space have revolutionised transport and logistics. Less visibly, these same timing signals are critical to financial trading systems, telecommunications networks, and power grids, where even microsecond discrepancies can have serious consequences.

Satellite communications are equally foundational. Satellites deliver television broadcasts across continents, enable long-distance phone calls, and provide internet access to regions beyond the reach of fibre-optic cables or mobile networks. For remote communities, ships at sea, aircraft in flight, and disaster-stricken areas where ground infrastructure is damaged, satellites often provide the only reliable connection to the outside world. Services such as distance learning, telemedicine, and emergency response increasingly depend on this orbital connectivity.

Perhaps the most far-reaching contribution of space technology lies in weather forecasting and environmental monitoring. Satellites continuously observe cloud systems, storm formation, ocean temperatures, ice cover, and land use patterns. A substantial proportion of the observational data underpinning modern weather prediction and climate science comes from space-based instruments, complemented by ground stations and ocean buoys. This information enables early warnings for hurricanes, floods, and heatwaves, saving lives and reducing economic losses. Over longer timescales, Earth-observation satellites track deforestation, urban expansion, sea-level rise, and greenhouse gas concentrations, forming a crucial evidence base for environmental policy and climate research.

By some estimates, well over ten thousand operational satellites are currently in orbit, a figure that has risen dramatically in the past decade. Together, they form a vast, largely unseen infrastructure that underpins modern civilisation. Reflecting this dependence, the global space economy was valued at around £500 billion in the early 2020s and is projected to grow significantly over the coming decade. Satellites and space services now sit alongside electricity, digital networks, and semiconductors as critical enablers of economic and social activity.

Emerging technologies: Expanding capabilities from orbit

While today’s space systems are already indispensable, new technologies promise to extend their impact even further. One of the most significant developments is the rise of satellite mega-constellations: networks of hundreds or thousands of relatively small satellites operating in low Earth orbit (LEO). Companies such as SpaceX, OneWeb, and Amazon are deploying these constellations to provide global broadband internet coverage. SpaceX’s Starlink network alone already comprises several thousand satellites, with regulatory approval for many more and proposals for further expansion.

The goal of these constellations is to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to virtually any point on the planet, including rural regions, developing economies, ships, and aircraft. In controlled demonstrations during 2023, engineers successfully made early direct-to-device voice calls using unmodified smartphones connected to experimental satellite systems. While these trials do not yet represent mass-market services, they suggest a future in which everyday mobile devices can seamlessly switch between terrestrial networks and satellites, improving coverage and resilience worldwide.

Another emerging concept attracting growing attention is space-based solar power (SBSP). The idea involves placing large solar arrays in orbit, where sunlight is constant and unobstructed, and transmitting the harvested energy to Earth using microwave or laser beams. Advances in lightweight materials, robotics, and wireless power transmission have moved SBSP from speculative science fiction toward technical plausibility. Research programmes in the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, China, and Japan are exploring whether such systems could one day provide a reliable source of low-carbon energy.

However, significant challenges remain. While small-scale demonstrations have shown that wireless power transmission from space is possible, large-scale SBSP faces formidable engineering, economic, and regulatory hurdles. Launch costs, in-orbit assembly, safety assurances, and spectrum management all require further development before SBSP could become commercially viable. Nonetheless, its potential to deliver continuous renewable energy has ensured sustained international interest.

Innovation is also reshaping how space activities themselves are conducted. As satellite numbers grow, orbital congestion and space debris have become pressing concerns. Historically, satellites and rocket stages were often left in orbit after their missions ended, contributing to a growing population of debris travelling at high speeds. Even small fragments can cause catastrophic damage if collisions occur.

In response, space agencies and private companies are developing on-orbit servicing technologies, including satellite refuelling, repair, and life-extension. While still largely experimental, these capabilities could enable future satellites to be maintained rather than discarded, reducing waste and improving sustainability. Active debris-removal missions are also under development, aiming to capture and safely deorbit defunct objects. Regulators are beginning to reinforce these efforts: for example, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has introduced a rule requiring most low-Earth-orbit satellites to be deorbited within five years of mission completion, significantly tightening earlier guidelines.

Managing a crowded sky: Space traffic and security

As satellite activity accelerates, managing orbital traffic has become a central challenge. With thousands of active satellites and many more planned, ensuring safe separation and collision avoidance is increasingly complex. Discussions around Space Traffic Management (STM) seek to establish shared practices for tracking objects, sharing orbital data, and coordinating manoeuvres. International bodies such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the International Telecommunication Union play key roles in these conversations, particularly in relation to orbital coordination and radio-frequency spectrum use.

Some industry filings suggest ambitions for extremely large numbers of future satellites, numbering in the hundreds of thousands or more. While such filings do not equate to actual launches and often overlap or reflect speculative planning, they highlight the scale of potential congestion and the importance of forward-looking governance. Emerging technologies, including AI-assisted collision-avoidance systems and improved tracking of smaller debris, can help mitigate risks, but technical solutions alone are unlikely to suffice without international cooperation.

Alongside congestion, resilience and security are growing concerns. Satellites can be vulnerable to jamming, spoofing, cyberattacks, and physical interference, and many space systems serve both civilian and military purposes. As societies become more dependent on space-based services, protecting them from disruption becomes a matter of national and economic security as well as commercial reliability.

Navigating the legal frontier: Frameworks and gaps

The legal foundations governing space activities were laid during the Cold War, most notably in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST). Ratified by over a hundred countries, the treaty establishes that outer space is the “province of all mankind,” prohibits national appropriation of celestial bodies, and commits states to peaceful use. Crucially, it also makes states internationally responsible for the space activities of their governmental and non-governmental entities and liable for damage caused by their space objects.

These principles remain remarkably resilient, but modern realities are stretching the framework. The OST does not provide detailed rules for managing congested orbits, coordinating collision avoidance, or enforcing debris mitigation. The 1972 Liability Convention addresses damage caused by space objects, yet it has never been tested in complex scenarios such as debris-on-debris collisions in orbit involving multiple private operators from different jurisdictions.

Most day-to-day regulation of commercial space activity now occurs at the national level, through licensing regimes and spectrum allocation, layered atop relatively sparse international law. Many international norms – such as debris-mitigation guidelines – remain voluntary rather than legally binding. As new activities emerge, including on-orbit servicing and potential space-based power stations, legal questions multiply. Who authorises a large orbital energy platform? How is liability managed if a servicing mission fails? What permissions are required to interact with another operator’s satellite or debris?

Efforts are underway to address these gaps through incremental regulation, confidence-building measures, and proposed international standards. While progress can be slow, there is growing recognition that predictable, cooperative governance benefits all space users by reducing risk and encouraging investment.

Conclusion: A shared responsibility beyond earth

From navigation and weather forecasting to global communications and environmental monitoring, Earth’s reliance on space technology is already profound – and it continues to grow. This dependence is not inherently a weakness; rather, it reflects humanity’s ability to use space to solve problems on Earth. Satellites enhance safety, productivity, and connectivity, offering tangible benefits to billions of people.

Realising this promise over the long term requires thoughtful stewardship. Space is not an infinite resource, and the orbital environment must be managed carefully to avoid congestion, conflict, and irreversible damage. The foundational principles of space law – peaceful use, shared benefit, and responsibility – remain sound guides. Building on them with modern regulations, technical cooperation, and international dialogue will be essential as satellite numbers rise and new technologies mature.

The story of space technology remains an optimistic one. With continued collaboration among governments, industry, academia, and international institutions, space can remain a domain that supports life on Earth rather than undermining it. If managed wisely, the invisible infrastructure above our heads will continue to enable innovation, resilience, and shared progress for generations to come.

Corrin Miller is an associate in the Corporate Department at CMS Edinburgh. She has experience in a wide range of corporate matters with a particular focus on private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance work. She works with private companies, investors, management teams and individual shareholders across a broad range of sectors.

Corrin is a member of the CMS equIP team, our dedicated programme helping start-ups to scale. 

She is also a member of the CMS space team, having a keen interest in the space sector.