Let’s Just Talk About the Weather: Weather Satellites and Space Diplomacy

Abstract

Over the past 70 years, the world has established an impressive history of international co-operation on weather monitoring via satellite, but this co-operation has not always been consistent. Following the launch of the first weather satellites, an international World Weather Watch system was established, and the United States engaged in bilateral co-operation and data exchange with the Soviet Union. However, more recently, co-operation in this area has been more challenging. While the World Weather Watch continues to operate, there were questions in the 2010s about the United States’ ability to maintain its full contribution to the international weather monitoring system, and suggestions to pursue bilateral co-operation with China in this area were spurned by Congress. This article investigates the variation in diplomatic efforts in this area, focusing on the key actors involved in space diplomacy, the underlying goals of space diplomacy efforts and the processes by which space diplomacy occurs.