Common Values Guiding a Humanitarian Satellite Mission

The most powerful shift in space technology today is not the sensors, the rockets, or the constellations. It is a shift in values.

For decades, satellite imagery has been shaped by a simple assumption: those with the greatest resources control the view from space. Governments and a small number of commercial actors have determined what is seen, who sees it, and how that information is used. The technology advanced rapidly, but the power structure around it remained largely unchanged.

Common Space begins from a different premise: the ability to observe the Earth is a form of power, and power requires intentional stewardship.

When conversations about satellite imagery occur, they often focus on technical specifications: spatial resolution, revisit rates, spectral bands, and launch timelines. These capabilities and details matter, and the progress in space technology over the past decade has been extraordinary. Yet the deeper questions are asked far less often: who benefits from this technology, what values guide its use, and what responsibilities come with the ability to see the planet in such detail.

In the legacy commercial market, which evolved primarily to serve government users, the default approach has often been restricted. When access to imagery is limited to a small set of specialist users, the broader ethical and societal implications are easier to sidestep. The communities most affected by the events captured in satellite imagery are often the least likely to have access to it.

Human Agency

Communities know what serves them. Technology should build local capacity, not dependency. Fairness is designed into systems, not delivered as charity. Self-determination includes how imagery is used. Communities understand their environments, their risks, and their priorities. Our role is not to dictate solutions but to provide tools that allow people to make informed decisions and act on their own behalf.

Human agency means building systems that respect the knowledge, autonomy, and dignity of the people who use them.

Stewardship

Operating satellites that observe our planet comes with real responsibility.

We recognize that imagery can shine a light on some of the biggest events on our planet, but it can also expose vulnerable populations if handled poorly. Common Space is taking on the responsibility of owning and operating these satellites as trusted stewards of the community, not displacing or ignoring the moral principles that are necessary to minimize harm.

To us, Stewardship means designing and operating our systems with care, transparency, and humility, ensuring that the technology we place in orbit, and the systems downstream from there, help protect people as much as it helps the world understand what is happening on the ground.

Transparency

Building Infrastructure for Truth.

Satellite imagery has the power to reveal truths about our world: conflict, floods, wildfires, displacement, environmental destruction, and human rights violations. Common Space is committed to open licensing and transparent governance wherever possible. We believe that the information necessary to understand and respond to crises should be widely accessible, enabling collaboration across organizations, governments, journalists, and communities. Building trust through open decision making, open systems, and open data.

Transparency strengthens accountability, coordination, and trust. We will be as open and transparent as we can without putting others at risk. Transparency should be used for accountability, but inside common space, and for the communities we serve.

Independence

Common Space is designed to be independent of political, military, and commercial control.

Humanitarian actors operate in some of the most complex and sensitive environments on Earth. To support them responsibly, the infrastructure they rely on must be trusted across borders, institutions, and communities.

Independence allows Common Space to prioritize humanitarian needs without being constrained by geopolitical or commercial incentives. It ensures that the system remains focused on protecting people and supporting crisis response wherever it is needed.

Optimistic Curiosity

Building for the best possible future.

Many of the systems we rely on today were built decades ago, for very different purposes. While they have enabled extraordinary progress, the challenges we face now: climate change, conflict, displacement, and increasingly frequent disasters require us to rethink how information systems are designed and whom they serve.

Common Space is grounded in the belief that better systems can be built when we question existing assumptions. We remain curious about new models of governance, new approaches to hardware and mission design, and new ways of collaborating across sectors and communities.

Optimism, for us, is not naïve. It is a commitment to experimentation, learning, and improvement. By making satellite data more accessible and usable, we hope to enable new forms of inquiry, allowing people to better understand the world around them and the impacts we are having on it.

From that curiosity, new ideas, solutions, and collaborations can emerge. Our goal is to create the conditions where that exploration can flourish, and where shared knowledge leads to better decisions, for the planet and the people who live on it.

The Values

These values will guide everything we do at Common Space. Human Agency, Stewardship, Transparency, Independence, and Optimistic Curiosity are all necessary for us, as a community and a movement, to have the impacts on the world that we need to happen. The ability to take actions based on understanding and a strong moral backing is something we should all aspire to. In light of our transparency and stewardship, as well as our own curiosity, we want to know how these Values feel to you. We would love your feedback on these values, and welcome nominations for other values that we may be overlooking through our values exercise. Please reach out to the Common Space team at hello@commonspace.world to give us your feedback.