Kenya recently launched ClimCAM, an AI-powered satellite in partnership with Egypt and Uganda. In the first part of the series, we analysed the milestone through the lens of international cooperation, focusing on the importance of developing a legal ecosystem for ensuring the peaceful uses of space.[1] You can read more on that article here. The next part of the series will analyse more closely the benefits-sharing principle, focusing on why this principle is vital to outer space activities, and how Africa specifically benefits from the products and services derived from the global commons. ClimCAM provides a contemporary test case through which Article 1 can be interpreted in developmental terms. The question to ask then is what does the phrase “for the benefit and in the interests of all countries” actually look like in practice for developing states in 2026?
Introduction: From Principle to Practice
Benefits-sharing is emerging as one of the core developmental pillars within the body of space law, especially as more players join the multipolar environment that is the space industry. Despite being one of the most frequently cited provisions in the Outer Space Treaty, it is also one of the least defined in terms of ascribing a clear meaning to the concept of benefit sharing. The benefits-sharing principle is articulated in the first paragraph of Article 1 of the Outer Space Treaty and reads as follows:
“The exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.”
From the foregoing it can be deduced that space exploration is intended to derive benefits for the greater humanity. Despite this assertion, it remains unclear what exactly constitutes a benefit, and how such benefits are to be distributed. The even more pertinent question is how developing countries and emerging space nations can derive tangible benefits from exploration. The recent launch of ClimCAM gives us an opportunity to revisit these questions through an African perspective.
The Legal Foundations of Benefits-Sharing
To fully grasp the nature of the benefits sharing principle, one must read the full Article 1 provision. The second paragraph states that “outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind…” This implies that access to space can represent the benefit itself, imploring actors to safeguard against interfering in the rights of other actors, through sustainable and responsible innovation in space. This is commonly linked to the principle of due regard as expressed in Article 9 which reads that “State Parties to the Treaty shall be guided by the principle of co-operation and mutual assistance and shall conduct all their activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, with due regard to the corresponding interests of all other State Parties to the Treaty”.
The third and final paragraph of Article 1 reminds us that “there shall be freedom of scientific investigation in outer space…and that states shall facilitate and encourage international cooperation.” This once again points us back to the fact that benefits-sharing is characterised by cooperation. A distinct benefit in this regard would be the ability to have unfettered access to space for scientific investigation.
Placing Benefit-Sharing in an African Context
Over the last 60 years a gradual shift has been taking place as it pertains to benefit sharing. Cold War precedent meant that success during space missions was measured according to the impact of scientific discovery, technology transfer, and international cooperation. Now with the inclusion of private sector innovation, as well as developing countries wishing to solve local challenges, we can observe that the primary benefit of any contemporary space activity is the data or information derived therefrom.
In Africa, space has become a matter of sustainable development. Earth Observation (EO) is the principal driver of downstream activity, accounting for roughly 60% of downstream companies. EO applications support a number of the continent’s development priorities including:
● Agriculture and food security
● Climate monitoring
● Water-resource management
● Disaster response
● Urban planning
● Mining and national-resource governance
● Environmental compliance and carbon monitoring
The rapid proliferation of space data, products and services has been gradual, with the establishment of a stakeholder ecosystem represented by regional, national, private and institutional players. Investment has also seen uptick, particularly in Climate-Smart Agriculture, which would meet pressing food insecurity across the region. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have determined that EO data can help measure indicators that would overcome the resource barriers that have made farming inefficient and risky.
Consequently, discussions about benefits-sharing, in practice, often revolve around the governance and distribution of EO capabilities. EO missions allow that principle to be evaluated through tangible outcomes, as listed above. ClimCAM demonstrated that benefits sharing can extend beyond access to space hardware, and space itself, to include access to valuable data capable of contributing to the monitoring and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The African space economy is currently worth an estimated USD24.95 billion dollars having added over USD5 billion in revenue since the 2022 valuation of USD19.49 billion. This uptick shows a continent burgeoning with space opportunity and rapidly progressing from user to contributor in space development affairs.
In this second installment of the series, we explored the nature and characteristics of the benefits-sharing principle, by examining the applicable provisions in the Outer Space Treaty. Relying on the ClimCAM satellite launch, this provided the foundation for better understanding why African states in particular are adopting a new definition of benefits, found in the access to data and information. The value of these benefits is most evident in the scale of the EO downstream market across African states. In the next installment of this series, we will once again consider this principle, however, focusing on data sovereignty as the primary benefit that emerging space nations like Kenya, Egypt and Uganda aspire for through such milestones.