BRICS Summit Backs Expansion of Remote-Sensing Satellite Network

The New Delhi Declaration adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit has recorded significant headway in finalising an amendment to the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation (RSSC) Agreement, a move that would allow additional space agencies to join the grouping.

The RSSC functions as a virtual network linking observation satellites already operated by member countries. Its present composition includes India's Resourcesat 2 and 2A, China's Gaofen-6 and Ziyuan III 02, and Russia's Kanopus-V type spacecraft.

Alongside the constellation, the Summit drafted the Terms of Reference for a BRICS Space Council, setting out the framework for future coordination among the members.

Space sustainability featured prominently in the declaration, which welcomed discussions at the BRICS Heads of Space Agencies meeting held in Bengaluru. Those talks underscored the importance of mitigating space debris to safeguard the long-term use of outer space. The Bengaluru gathering was attended by senior officials from Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the UAE.

On the prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS), the declaration observed that non-binding commitments can contribute to the objective. It noted the initiative by some members to establish a single open-ended working group that would also examine a legally binding instrument on PAROS. Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures, along with universally agreed norms, rules and principles, were described as practical contributions to the same goal, with members undertaking to engage constructively in the process.

The declaration also referred to a planned BRICS Science and Research Repository, conceived as a structured platform for voluntary knowledge storage and sharing among member states while respecting data security, intellectual property rights and national policies. A draft framework document for the repository has been prepared.

Cooperation in emerging fields such as quantum technologies was acknowledged as well. The declaration additionally marked the 65th jubilee of Yuri Gagarin's first human spaceflight on 12 April 1961, describing it as a historic milestone that opened new frontiers for all humankind.