Roscosmos in Focus: Space Technologies for the Global South
African countries are interested in cooperating with Russia on space programs. The topic came up during the public talk “A Planet Without Borders: A View from Space,” held on October 10 as part of the Second Global Digital Forum.
In 2026, the Roscosmos State Corporation became a partner of the Second Global Digital Forum. Space exploration programs and digitalization are now closely intertwined, and further advances in space technology are difficult to imagine without neural networks and artificial intelligence.
Cooperation with Russia, one of the leading space powers, offers significant advantages for countries in the Global South. This is why the forum’s events featuring Roscosmos attracted particular interest.
Guests from Asia, Africa and Latin America had the opportunity to speak with Sergey Prokopyev, a cosmonaut and Hero of the Russian Federation. He shared his experience working aboard the International Space Station, including insights into working with crew members from other countries and carrying out scientific programs.
Roscosmos is not the only Russian entity working with partner countries. A representative from Namibia, for example, expressed gratitude to Russia’s space industry for its cooperation. The Russian private company SPUTNIX operates its own SITRO-AIS constellation of more than 50 nanosatellites. These satellites form part of Russia’s first privately operated space-based automatic identification system and continuously monitor maritime traffic worldwide.
The satellites use high-resolution cameras for technical applications, but they can also capture detailed images of Earth’s surface. In August 2026, one of the SITRO-AIS satellites captured high-quality images of Namibia, which were made publicly available.
This example clearly demonstrates the breadth of advanced space technologies available in Russia. Roscosmos, in particular, has a much wider range of capabilities than private companies. For countries in the Global South, cooperation with Russia’s space industry offers significant opportunities to develop their own Earth observation programs and other digital technologies.
