1 University of Leicester (Leicester, United Kingdom), Research Institute of State Building and Local Self Government of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine (Kharkiv, Ukraine)
2 Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University (Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29202/phil-cosm/34/1
Received: 2 November 2024 / Accepted: 22 November 2024 / Published: 30 January 2025
View Full-Text Review Reports Cite This Paper
Abstract
The integration of satellite technologies into the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has redefined the strategic role of space-based assets in contemporary warfare, revealing their dual-use nature and the associated legal, ethical, and strategic challenges. This research critically examines the transformative impact of satellite systems, highlighting their contributions to military operations, including realtime reconnaissance, secure communications, and precision navigation, while also addressing their vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and systemic risks. Through the lens of this conflict, the study explores the complex interplay between commercial and state-operated satellite networks and their implications for international security and space governance. The analysis exposes critical deficiencies in existing legal frameworks, particularly the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which inadequately addresses the growing militarization and commercialization of space activities. Ethical concerns are compounded by the increasing reliance on artificial intelligence and autonomous systems in satellite-linked operations, challenging traditional norms of accountability under international humanitarian law. Furthermore, the dual-use nature of satellite technologies raises urgent questions regarding the protection of civilian infrastructure and the governance of non-state actors in conflict zones. This study advocates for a robust and comprehensive approach to space governance, integrating legal reforms, ethical safeguards, and multilateral diplomacy. It proposes actionable policy frameworks aimed at balancing technological innovation with global security imperatives, ensuring that satellite technologies support a peaceful, equitable, and sustainable future in space governance.
Keywords: satellite technology, Russian-Ukrainian war, commercial satellites, dual-use, space law, ethical gaps, militarisation, international governance, national security.
References
Abels, J. (2024) Private infrastructure in geopolitical conflicts: the case of Starlink and the war in Ukraine. European Journal of International Relations, Volume 30, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540661241260653
Aimaiti, Y., Sanon, C., Koch, M., Baise, L. G., & Moaveni, B. (2022) War related building damage assessment in Kyiv, Ukraine, using Sentinel-1 radar and Sentinel-2 optical images. Remote Sensing, 14, 6239. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14246239
Albon, C. (2022) How commercial space systems are changing the conflict in Ukraine. C4ISRNET. Available online: https://www.c4isrnet.com/intel-geoint/2022/04/25/how-commercial-space-systems-are-changing-the-conflict-in-ukraine
Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS) (2023) NATO. Available online: https://www.nato.int/factsheets
Bendett, S., and Edmonds, J. (2022). Russian military autonomy in Ukraine: Four months in. CNA. Available online: https://www.cna.org/reports/2022/07/russian-military-autonomy-in-ukraine-four-months-in
Borotkanych, N. (2022) Use of satellite remote sensing in the mining industry. EOS Data Analytics. Available online: https://eos.com/blog/use-of-satellite-remote-sensing-in-the-mining-industry/
Burbach, D. T. (2022) Early lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war as a space conflict. Atlantic Council. Available online: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/airpower-after-ukraine/early-lessons-from-the-russia-ukraine-war-as-a-space-conflict/
Case study: Viasat attack (2023) CyberPeace Institute. Available online: https://cyberconflicts.cyberpeaceinstitute.org/law-and-policy/cases/viasat#footnote-3
Constitution of Ukraine (1996) Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Available online: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/254%D0%BA/96-%D0%B2%D1%80#Text
Criminal Code of Ukraine (2001) Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Available online: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2341-14#Text
Davies, Merton, & William R. Harris (1988) RAND’s role in the evolution of balloon and satellite observation systems and related U.S. space technology. RAND Corporation. Available online: https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3692.html
Dickey, Robin, & Gleason, Michael P. (2023) Space and War in Ukraine: Beyond in Satellites. Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower, 3(1), 2-24. Available online: https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/AEtherJournal/Journals/Volume-3_Number-1/Dickey_Gleason.pdf
Erwin, Sandra (2023) NRO signs agreements with five commercial suppliers of electro-optical imagery. SpaceNews. Available online: https://spacenews.com/nro-signs-agreements-with-five-commercial-suppliers-of-electro-optical-imagery/
Erwin, Sandra (2022) BlackSky, Maxar, Planet win 10-year NRO contracts for satellite imagery. SpaceNews. Available online: https://spacenews.com/blacksky-maxar-planet-win-10-year-nro-contracts-for-satellite-imagery/
ESA’s Annual Space Environment Report (2022) ESA Space Debris Office. Available online: https://www.sdo.esoc.esa.int/environment_report/Space_Environment_Report_latest.pdf
ESPI Short Report 1 – The war in Ukraine from a space cybersecurity perspective (2022) European Space Policy Institute. Available online: https://www.espi.or.at/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ESPI-Short-1-Final-Report.pdf
Fave, Danilo delle (2023, April 14). The challenges of dual-use space technologies: The non-peaceful use of satellites. Space Generation Advisory Council. https://spacegeneration.org/the-challenges-of-dual-use-space-technologies-the-non-peaceful-use-of-satellites
Freeman, Lindsay (2018) Digital Evidence and War Crimes Prosecutions: The Impact of Digital Technologies on International Criminal Investigations and Trials. Fordham International Law Journal, Vol. 41, No. 2. Available online: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3800418
Gangware, Will, & Dale Swartz (2023) Scaling – and funding – next-gen satellites for the coming commercial boom. McKinsey & Company. Available online: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/our-insights/scaling-and-funding-next-gen-satellites-for-the-coming-commercial-boom
Geospatial information technology for peace (2022) United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Available online: https://unitar.org/about/news-stories/news/geospatial-information-technology-peace
Harrison, Todd, and Matthew Strohmeyer (2022) Commercial space remote sensing and its role in national security. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Available online: https://aerospace.csis.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/220202_Harrison_Commercial_Space-compressed.pdf
Hitchens, Theresa (2022) After Ukraine success, NRO says electro-optical imagery contracts due this summer. Breaking Defense. Available online: https://breakingdefense.com/2022/04/lauding-firms-ukraine-work-nro-head-says-electro-optical-imagery-contracts-coming-this-summer/
Höyhtyä, Marko, and Sari Uusipaavalniemi (2023) The space domain and the Russo-Ukrainian war: Actors, tools, and impact. Hybrid CoE Working Paper 21. Available online: https://www.hybridcoe.fi/publications/hybrid-coe-working-paper-21-the-space-domain-and-the-russo-ukrainian-war-actors-tools-and-impact/
Huang, Q., Jin, G., Xiong, X., Ye, H., and Xie, Y. (2023) Monitoring urban change in conflict from the perspective of optical and SAR satellites: The case of Mariupol, a city in the conflict between RUS and UKR. Remote Sensing, 15, 3096. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15123096
ICEYE Satellite, Purchased with Donations from Ukrainians, Helped Identify and Destroy Thousands of russian Military Equipment (2023) Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. Available online: https://gur.gov.ua/en/content/nadanyi-hur-mo-ukrainy-kosmichnyi-aparat-iceye-dopomih-vyiavyty-ta-znyshchyty-tysiachi-odynyts-vorozhoi-tekhniky.html
ICEYE Signs Contract to Provide Government of Ukraine with Access to Its SAR Satellite Constellation (2022) ICEYE. Available online: https://www.iceye.com/press/press-releases/iceye-signs-contract-to-provide-government-of-ukraine-with-access-to-its-sar-satellite-constellation
Jayanti, A. (2023) Starlink and the Russia-Ukraine War: A Case of Commercial Technology and Public Purpose. Belfer Center. Available online: https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/starlink-and-russia-ukraine-war-case-commercial-technology-and-public-purpose
Jones, Grace, Janet Egan, & Eric Rosenbach (2023) Advancing in adversity: Ukraine’s battlefield technologies and lessons for the U.S. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. Available online: https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/advancing-adversity-ukraines-battlefield-technologies-and-lessons-us
Kesteloo, H. (2024) Ukraine’s Defense Ministry buys over $27 million in DJI drones. DroneXL. Retrieved from https://dronexl.co/2024/05/29/ukraines-buys-27-million-dji-drones/
Kovalevska, Y. (2022) ICEYE satellite: What exactly Prytula bought and how it will help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. BBC News Ukraine. Available online: https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/news-62603951
Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (H.R. 6133) 102nd Congress (1992) U.S. Congress. Available online: https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/house-bill/6133
Launius, R. D. (2007) A significant moment for the space age. Space Policy, 23(3), 148-150. Available online: https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/7823/Launius_a_significant_moment_for_t.pdf
Law of Ukraine on the Basic Principles of Cybersecurity (2017) Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Available online: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2163-19#Text
Law of Ukraine on Electronic Communications (2020) Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Available online: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1089-20#Text
Lightman, S., Suloway, T., and Brule, J. (2022). Satellite Ground Segment: Applying the Cybersecurity Framework to Satellite Command and Control. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8401
Melzer, Nils (2008) The Principle of Distinction under International Humanitarian Law’. Targeted Killing in International Law. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199533169.003.0011
Morris, C. (2023) Ukraine war: Offensive use of satellite tech a sign of how conflict is increasingly moving into space. University of Portsmouth. Available online: https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/blogs/ukraine-war-offensive-use-of-satellite-tech-a-sign-of-how-conflict-is-increasingly-moving-into-space
Nasu, Hitoshi (2022) The eye in space: ICEYE’s SAR satellites and the law of war. Lieber Institute West Point. Available online: https://lieber.westpoint.edu/eye-space-iceyes-sar-satellites-law-of-war/
Newmann, Christopher (2012) Moralization of technologies: Military drones – a case study. E-International Relations. https://www.e-ir.info/2012/05/02/moralization-of-technologies-military-drones-a-case-study/
Ogden, T., Knack, A., Lebret, M., Black, J., and Mavroudis, V. (2024). The role of the space domain in the Russia-Ukraine war and the impact of converging space and AI technologies. CETaS Expert Analysis. https://cetas.turing.ac.uk/publications/role-space-domain-russia-ukraine-war
Ortega, Almudena Azcárate (2023) Not a rose by any other name: Dual-use and dual-purpose space systems. Lawfare Media. Available online: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/not-a-rose-by-any-other-name-dual-use-and-dual-purpose-space-systems
People’s Satellite (2023) Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation. Available online: https://prytulafoundation.org/en/about/projects/archive/peoples-satellite
Procedure of the Functioning of the National Telecommunication Network (2020) Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Available online: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1358-2020-%D0%BF#Text
Rich, Michael D. (1998) RAND’s Role in the CORONA Program: Remarks on the 35th Anniversary of the First Successful Mission. RAND Corporation. Available online: https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P8017.html
Richelson, Jeffrey (1990) America’s secret eyes in space: The U.S. Keyhole spy satellite program. Harper & Row. Available online: https://archive.org/details/americassecretey0000rich
Roza, David (2023) Experts warn of blurring line between military, commercial satellites. Air& Space Forces Magazine. Available online: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/military-commercial-satellites-blurring-line/
Russia behind cyber-attack with Europe-wide impact an hour before Ukraine invasion (2022) UK Goverment, Press release. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss. Published 10 May 2022. Available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/russia-behind-cyber-attack-with-europe-wide-impact-an-hour-before-ukraine-invasion
Sadham, V. (2024) Drone war escalates: Ukraine plans to produce 1 million drones per year. The News Mill. Available online: https://thenewsmill.com/2024/02/drone-war-escalates-ukraine-plans-to-produce-1-million-drones-per-year/
Shevchuk, S. A., Vyshnevskyi, V. I., & Bilous, O. P. (2022) The use of remote sensing data for investigation of environmental consequences of Russia-Ukraine war. Journal of Landscape Ecology, 15(3), 35-53. https://doi.org/10.2478/jlecol-2022-0017
Soroka, Larysa (2023) Collective Security Crisis: Challenges to Space Law and Space Security. Advanced Space Law, Volume 12, 76-81. https://doi.org/10.29202/asl/12/10
Space data ethics: The next frontier in responsible leadership (2023) National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group, Climate and Societal Benefits Subcommittee. Available online: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/white-paper-space-dataethics-2023-12-01-final-002.pdf?emrc=65d8fcfdca26f
Sticher, V., Wegner, J. D., and Pfeifle, B. (2023) Toward the remote monitoring of armed conflicts. PNAS Nexus, 2(6), 181. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad181
Strout, N. (2022) National Reconnaissance Office awards five contracts for commercial satellite radar capabilities. C4ISRNET. Available online: https://www.c4isrnet.com/intel-geoint/2022/01/20/national-reconnaissance-office-awards-five-contracts-forcommercial-satellite-radar-capabilities/
The role of satellite communications in disaster management (2022) Access Partnership. Fair Tech Institute. Available online: https://accesspartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The-Role-of-Satellite-Communications-in-Disaster-Management.pdf
Timmermans, R. (2022) Using satellite data in court, not as evident as it seems. Groundstation. Space. Available online: https://www.groundstation.space/business/using-satellitedata-in-court-not-as-evident-as-it-seems/
Torrieri, M. (2022) How satellite imagery magnified Ukraine to the world. Earth Observation. Available online: https://interactive.satellitetoday.com/via/november-2022/howsatellite-imagery-magnified-ukraine-to-the-world/
Vaynman, J. (2021) Better monitoring and better spying: The implications of emerging technology for arms control. Texas National Security Review, 4(4), Fall 2021. Available online: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/c1dff0fb-deda4306-9552-55cdda14fb19/content
Wood, G. (2024) A suspicious pattern alarming the Ukrainian military. The Atlantic. Available online: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/03/americansatellites-russia-ukraine-war/677775/
Zafra, M., Hunder, M., Rao, A., and Kiyada, S. (2024) How drone combat in Ukraine is changing warfare. Reuters. Available online: https://www.reuters.com/graphics/UKRAINE-CRISIS/DRONES/dwpkeyjwkpm