Impacts of Satellite-based Applications on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Governments, space agencies, and private companies are fostering the adoption of satellite data and satellite-based applications in non-space sectors, contributing to meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and strengthening the role of the space sector as a major driver of sustainable development. Meanwhile, the new space economy (NSE) is fostering a virtuous integration of space technologies and new digital technologies (e.g., big data, machine learning, edge computing, and cloud). It makes the design and development of new satellite-based applications more efficient and effective, with a consequent growing beneficial impact on the biosphere, society, and the economy. In this chapter, we present an overview of the Earth observation-, satellite navigation-, and satellite communication-based applications impacting SDGs. We discuss their characteristics, their direct and indirect impact on SDGs, and the challenges and opportunities for their adoption.