2023 was a busy year — albeit one with mixed progress — on the space security front. No less than 27 countries pledged to not conduct destructive anti-satellite missile testing, bringing the total to 37. Meanwhile, the recently concluded Open Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats was lauded for driving energy into the long-stunted multilateral discussion, despite its disparate outcomes. In Ukraine, the possibility of space-related aggression in the war with Russia has persisted thanks to Russia describing commercial satellites as a “legitimate target.” The first so-called “commercial space war” has drawn rare broader public attention to the need to set firm lines for space aggression in times of conflict.
As the space security conversation advances, one region that continues to be largely overlooked is Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). However, space security should matter to the countries of the region — even to those for whom space is not a recognized priority today — and the United States should realize that with space security gaps mounting, there are important benefits to bringing the conversation closer to home.
An inconspicuous issue
A variety of space activities have proliferated in LAC as of late. In March, Brazil celebrated the first commercial space launch from its Alcântara space center, a central feature of the leading space program in the region. In September, Costa Rica hosted the first Central American Space Conference. Mexico’s first lunar exploration mission, the Colmena Project, will arrive onboard Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander in early 2024.
Despite the rising level of activity in the LAC space sector, space issues remain relatively unknown within the public and the decision-making communities across the region. While it’s easy to attribute this lack of awareness to other urgent and persisting political and economic challenges that have been more pressing in people’s minds,…
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