Data Exchange in Air and Space Domain

- Madhu Nagappa

Digital Technology has witnessed tremendous growth in the 21st century. Cloud computing, where internet-based data has been managed from faraway locations, has also gained popularity. An Information Technology Room, where all data is stored and backed up, is an important part of business operations. In the Space domain, high-performance computing and storage tools are needed to store and process target-specific applications collected from satellites. In Paris in 2021, a project called 'Space Data Marketplace' was launched to ease access to space data and develop a trusted data exchange environment for future applications such as satellite imagery simulation. The privacy concerns of data in outer space are not adequately addressed by data protection laws in their current form. The Outer Space Treaty, its follow-up agreements made through COPUOS, and UNGA Resolution 41/65, which contains the Principles on Remote Sensing, constitute the pertinent international space law that at this time does not set any restrictions or requirements on the creation and dissemination of satellite data, particularly VHR satellite data addressing potential individual privacy concerns or companies.

Additionally, even if a nation or union's courts decided that data protection laws applied to space, only that nation or union would be affected by that interpretation. Thus, it is advisable for various nations to collaborate to create an international standard for data protection in outer space. If not, confusion will reign, and SpaceTech companies may take advantage of loopholes in the law.