A decade ago, the term “space race” conjured images of Cold War rivalries and iconic Apollo missions. Today, the landscape is far more complex. Space is no longer the domain of a few powerful governments—it’s a dynamic, high-stakes arena where national priorities, commercial opportunity, and societal needs converge.
At the 40th annual Space Symposium last week in Colorado Springs, that reality was on full display. Hallways buzzed with new players from around the world. Conversations spanned lunar logistics, commercial space stations, AI-powered satellites, and orbital servicing.
While the topics were wide-ranging, a common thread ran through them all: the urgent need to move from complexity to clarity. In a landscape shaped by more players, more missions, and more data than ever before, interoperability, transparency, and trust are imperative.
A key signal came during a breakfast hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association, where it was made clear that interoperability and extensibility are now a baseline expectation for all future US Space Force technology awards. That’s not just a shift in procurement practice—it reflects the new reality that space systems must be designed to collaborate from the start. Because in this globally interconnected environment, fragmentation isn’t just inefficient, it’s risky.
This concept of interconnectivity is bigger than defense. Satellite-based data is now embedded in how we manage resources, respond to disasters, track climate change, deliver humanitarian aid, navigate cities, and optimize logistics. Increasingly, this data must integrate seamlessly into existing workflows across countless sectors—many of which are not traditionally “space” industries at all.
This evolution in how the world thinks about the role of data from space presents an enormous opportunity. But it also comes with a warning. The business models that many satellite companies have relied on are being tested. It’s not enough to deliver raw data anymore. Most new users—whether in government, healthcare, agriculture, or finance—need decision-ready intelligence that works with their tools, systems, and missions. That means tackling real issues of data provenance, trust, legal compliance, and global interoperability.
And the challenges don’t stop at Earth’s edge.
As missions to the Moon, Mars, and orbital platforms accelerate, the stakes only get higher. Latency, autonomy, and sustainability requirements are pushing innovation into new territory—both technically and ethically. We’re entering a new era of space exploration, where policy, security, and commercial ambition intersect in uncharted environments. Getting it right will require alignment across communities that don’t always speak the same language—yet must work together.
That’s why OGC is expanding its role in the space community—not only as a steward of standards, but as a convener of innovators, a bridge between public and private sectors, and a trusted platform for experimentation and collaboration.
Today, OGC is:
Developing Frameworks for Integrity, Provenance, and Trust (IPT)
As AI and automation shape the satellite data lifecycle—from onboard processing to downstream analytics—OGC supports our members as they lead the way in building a global framework for verifying, tracing, and trusting geospatial data. This matters for science. It matters for security. And it matters for every mission that relies on accurate, actionable information.
Piloting Next-generation Space Data Architectures
Through collaborative testbeds, research and innovation programs, OGC is working with members to operationalize solutions—integrating satellite imagery, ground station data, and decision-support systems across domains. These include real-time mapping, emergency response, orbital infrastructure, and more.
Partnering Across the Ecosystem
We’re supporting our network of government space agencies, commercial firms, startups, and research institutions across North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond to ensure that standards are designed globally, implemented locally, and built to scale.
Looking Ahead to What’s Next
OGC is a home for its members to prepare for the future by working together on critical infrastructure for the space economy. Together, we solve the foundational problems that will unlock:
- Onboard AI: for both classified and unclassified mission contexts
- Lunar and Martian infrastructure: mapping, navigation, and logistics
- Human Habitation: ensuring systems support real people in space
- Bringing Indigenous, African, and other traditionally underrepresented voices into the conversation—recognizing that those closest to the Earth often hold the deepest knowledge about how to care for it
Why it Matters
The future of space will be shaped by decisions made today—about how we collaborate, how we govern, and how we design systems that serve everyone. From emergency response and infrastructure planning to orbital logistics and lunar navigation, the need for trusted, shared frameworks has never been greater.
OGC brings together members and their customers, supports precompetitive innovation, and offers a home for innovation to solve your problems. Whether you work or want to work with satellite data, use geospatial insights to inform decisions, develop AI applications, shape public policy, respond to emergencies, or explore what’s possible beyond Earth, you’re part of this story. OGC is here to help connect the dots—between policy and practice, data and decisions, Earth and orbit.
Contact us today to get involved, and join us at OGC’s Sea to Space Innovation Summit in Mérida, Mexico, June 9–12, 2025, where this conversation continues. Government officials may attend at no cost.
To explore membership opportunities, Click Here
About This Series
This article is the second in our “10 Ideas in 10 Weeks” series, highlighting bold ideas and real-world innovation across the OGC community. If you missed the first post—on building trust in data through Integrity, Provenance, and Trust (IPT)—you can read it here.