Contenu du sommaire : Géopolitique de l'espace extra-atmosphérique + Varia

The term “space power” is increasingly used in the media to describe States that carry out missions with strong symbolic power, even if they do not possess independent resources. Their image thus benefits from a windfall effect, particularly noticeable in the case of Lunar or Martian exploration. In fact, applied strictly, the expression is reserved for those States with sovereign capabilities for access to space and control of their satellites, who make up the “space club”. The wider use of the term goes hand in hand with the media coverage of the “New Space” movement, which has been redefining the relationship between public power and private players in the United States since the 2010s. Hence the spread of a Western discourse on the democratization of space activities, which are now more accessible. However, the breaking of the fundamental link with the conditions of sovereignty that remains the basis of space power greatly reduces the chances of such a model developing. The history of the acquisition and development of space power undeniably reflects the changing geopolitical balances in which it is embedded and which it helps to maintain. The Cold War determined the fundamentals of space power, in its relationship with nuclear power (part 1). The diversification of space uses reinforces the United States' place in a heterogeneous space club (part 2). The evolution of power relationships on Earth and the specific characteristics of the players involved have a direct impact on the various forms of space power in the years 1991-2015, marked by security concerns and openness to the private sector (part 3). However, we must be wary of now commonplace assertions about the inevitability of armed conflict in space, the emancipation of private players from the tutelage of States or forthcoming territorial disputes on the Moon, as they ignore the specific constraints of an atypical physical environment.

Ensuring the security of outer space has become a crucial issue for a transforming space ecosystem, characterized by the proliferation of actors, the development of commercial interests, and the growing dependence of societies and States on space systems. A space diplomacy has emerged, built upon the development of international space law. However, caught between the defense of national interests and the necessary multilateral approach, diplomatic processes are slowed down by oppositions between major space powers, oscillating between competition, rivalry, and antagonism. Alternative normative frameworks are gaining prominence, challenging the traditional regulatory paradigm. The current imperative is the construction of a comprehensive space security framework that facilitates the safe and sustainable utilization of this unique environment, amidst a context of multifaceted tensions.

The recent development of the space economy takes place in a context where security issues have evolved significantly over the last decades. With respect to this context, the paper aims to study the dynamics of innovation in the aerospace sector. Although common trends can be noted, the analysis highlights important differences between American and European approaches to technological innovation. The article is structured in two parts. Firstly, the major shared trends of the new space economy are analyzed with reference to an analytical framework focusing on the notion of security. Secondly, a study of the innovation policy implemented by the American and European space agencies highlights the diversity of approaches.

The essay explores the emergence of a new paradigm in biopolitical power which is proper to the Anthropocene. Characteristic of this new form of biopower is that it neither exercises direct control over life nor over territory, but rather derives power from knowledge relevant to sustaining the ‘life' of satellites in abiotic extraterrestrial dominions. By tracking the historical process of satellitization, in other words, the different forms of dependency of terrestrial political power on satellites since Sputnik, this article shows that these lifeless orbiting machines are deeply entangled with how capital has formed our unsustainable lives on this planet. But it also shows that saving orbital space can contribute to saving life on earth, even if such salvation implies a degree of complicity with the existing order of power. The primary objective of the paper is to show that this amounts to a paradigm shift within the spatiality of biopolitical analysis, and a broadening of the horizons of ecocritical concern. What it means is that we can no longer think about environmental politics in global terms, nor think about the planet as merely the inverse of the globe. In the Anthropocene, planet is a planet in a space that is not void but politicized, increasingly animated with inanimate bodies nevertheless connected to our terrestrial lives. To attend to the contemporary struggle for sovereignty over this politicized space, to bring the struggle for the sovereignty of sovereignties into Anthropocene imaginary, this paper proposes a new figure for imagining the planet. Rather than the Blue Marble, or Das Große Gehege, it offers up the earth ringed round with commercial and military constellations and space junk. Not because that is beautiful, but rather because that is where we are.

Satellite platforms positioned around the Earth have made it possible to obtain a global vision of our planet. However, whatever their performance, “traditional” satellites are insufficient to provide the information necessary to understand the mechanisms involved in monitoring climatic hazards, improving weather forecasting and civil and military security. For some two decades, making it possible to answer these new scientific and social questions, new technical vectors have appeared, notably constellations of small satellites and stationary platforms such as drones, gliders and balloons. This development, corresponding to an approach that is both complementary and breaks with the previous approach, promotes, in combination with the tools of artificial intelligence in full development, more numerous and higher quality observations.

In recent years, the massive dissemination of satellite images to document disasters (such as devastating fires in Canada, earthquake in Turkey) or conflicts (like the war in Ukraine) through various medias, shows a turning point in the use of a source of information long restricted to intelligence or a specific professional use because of its strategic interest or its cost. Since the mid-2000s, the “digital revolution” and with it Google Earth and then open data have changed the situation. This article seeks to show how this democratization of access to satellite images can contribute to a better awareness of environmental issues but also to a form of citizen empowerment, understood here as the ability given to individuals to be able to better inform themselves in favour of greater transparency, in a world shaken by the climate emergency and growing spread of fake news. It defends the idea that the satellite image can be related to a "citizen-tool" and relies on action-research to propose a method aimed at promoting education in space imagery in secondary education, prior to an appropriation of the tool by the citizen. After recalling the main steps that led to the democratization of access to satellite images, it will focus on explaining how the satellite image is a citizen-tool that makes it possible to understand the today's major societal issues and then it will show how an “education in spatial imagery” can be implemented in a practical way in the teaching of geography. While the pedagogical paths proposed in the light of action research tend to show that the satellite image makes it possible to favourably engage students in developing both geographical and transversal skills, the article calls for questioning the place of the satellite image in secondary education in France from a citizen perspective that extends the disciplinary framework on which it relies (here geography).

Space-based data, such as the IASI infrared sounder, used in physical science studies have applications beyond fundamental research. They can be used to track volcano plumes and provide near-real-time information for civil aviation. They can also be used to monitor extreme events such as cold spells accompanied by agricultural damage, or heatwaves and associated fires. Extreme events impact atmospheric composition and affect air quality on a local, regional and global scales, depending on their intensity. Plumes from fires or volcanic emissions can travel around the world and block air traffic, as in the case of the Eyjafjallajökul volcano in Iceland in 2010, or impact air quality, with health risks for populations in the case of fires in particular.IASI measurements are also used to verify and improve pollutant emission inventories, which are sometimes very incomplete, particularly for ammonia. Improved emission inventories enable more effective regulations to be put in place to reduce pollutant emissions. This article illustrates the performance of the IASI sounder, which has been on board Metop satellites since 2006, in monitoring the Earth's atmosphere in near-real time, providing useful information for geopolitical analysis.

The following article deals with the production of spatial data by using drones and satellites with a particular emphasis on the civil and humanitarian sphere. Though different spaces are explored, the investigation mainly focuses on the Syrian territory which gathers a wide range of actors that experiment many technical means. This research falls within a multidisciplinary perspective related to social studies and particularly builds upon geographical and anthropological contribution works. The investigation was carried out between Summer 2019 and October 2021. In order to achieve successful research completion, the investigation relies on thorough study of literature works related to drones and satellites on military and humanitarian field. This is part of a Post-Tomnod context where participatory projects are flourishing. Two books were particularly inspiring to this end: La souffrance à distance (1993) by Luc Boltanski and Théorie du drone (2013) by Grégoire Chamayou. Moreover, a number of qualitative interviews were conducted with individuals whose diverse profiles are representative of the many different actors that belong to the space-based data field. Each of them intervenes in the humanitarian, military and engineering field as well as in spatial agencies. So as to contribute to the research on spatial data through an anthropological investigation on the development of the related tools, we shall explain the process of data fabrication with a look at the history, the use and the different representations of the world. Then, the idea is to present an overview of data use so as to analyze the political space especially in terms of information, surveillance, risks and crisis prevention. Thus, beyond its use as a power tool, space-based data can be seen as a tool for critical examination and to control power. Indeed, these tools can be used by humanitarian workers to monitor population shifts following an unexpected bombing.Nonetheless, these interests must be balanced due to certain backlashes. In this criticism of the criticism itself, we shall mention “God's eye” point of view which is allowed by these tools that necessarily provide a panoptic gaze upon the people who are to be observed. The issue that this panoptic gaze comes along with is that it reifies observed individuals. This implies other difficulties. One of which is linked to the reality effect provoked by these images. This effect can be misleading because it deals with subjective realities as a result of their environment and analysis. God's eye ends up being fooled by a sham. Finally, it is crucial to put the technological imperative back into its political context and into the standards it meets. Indeed, by dint of not questioning the challenges linked to the reasons why a crisis occurred but rather on the means that can be used to help the victims, the process can be alienating and can induce a latent depolitization of crises. Eventually, the use of spatial-based data brings a lot of benefits especially in terms of information, surveillance, prevention, and critical analysis of power. However, these assets must be questioned. Drones have become fearsome power tools as well as opposition tools. Both drones and satellites purpose constitute a false mirror of reality to the extent that, due to the manufacturing of spatial-based data, they reveal subjective realities.

The technological evolution of satellite telecommunications systems to achieve high-speed Internet access raises geopolitical issues on several levels. The development of these systems is now largely driven by private players, who are gradually gaining influence in the fields of digital and space-based activities. However, the improvement of these systems is primarily motivated by the need to connect users in the most complex conditions anywhere on Earth. Their implementation in regions where terrestrial infrastructure is scarce, such as the Canadian Arctic, was eagerly anticipated and is now providing new opportunities for users in these isolated areas. While both the Starlink and Oneweb constellations are available and used for civilian purposes in the Arctic, competition between private operators and the evolving power dynamics between them and governments underlines the geopolitical and multiscalar dimensions of the deployment of these telecommunications systems. This paper therefore aims to examine the technological evolution of satellite communication systems and explore the geopolitical repercussions of the operational deployment of the Starlink and Oneweb constellations in the Canadian Arctic.

The Paris climate agreement in 2015, and more generally policies to combat climate change, are based on knowledge of greenhouse gas emissions, in particular carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, from human activity, established by inventories combining data on these activities and corresponding emission coefficients. This approach currently presents limitations, with varying levels of uncertainty depending on the countries and sectors of activity, and in terms of latency and spatial and temporal resolution, which penalize the transparency and reliability sought by the Paris agreement. However, the acquisition and processing of observations, particularly satellite observations, of atmospheric CO2 concentrations could enable rapid and reliable estimates of CO2 emissions at different spatial scales, and the evaluation or even the improvement of the quality of inventories. This article thus shows that this atmospheric approach, long limited to scientific research, is now emerging as a means of responding to the political need for new capacities for monitoring CO2 emissions. Europe has great ambitions in this area, with the Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring (CO2M) space mission and the preparation of an operational service for atmospheric monitoring of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, which would feed into official declarations of European emissions. However, the current maturity of the processing chains does not yet make it possible to qualify such a system. Using its CO2 emissions estimates in an international framework poses many technical and policy challenges, which this article discusses, giving them general context and perspective. To do this, it relies on a review of scientific articles and of reports for political decision-makers, and on knowledge of international exchanges on the subject.

This study on the Khorgos border area between Kazakhstan and the People's Republic of China will aim to show a new image of territorial developments of this region, in constant evolution since the gradual opening of China towards its post-Soviet neighbors and in particular since the formalization of the Belt and Road Initiative, in 2013. This territorial analysis will be carried out by infrared satellite image processing. From near-infrared spectroscopy to thermal infrared, the use of this part of the electromagnetic spectrum will understand new elements and improve the geopolitical analysis, with information normally not reachable to the naked eye.