Secure World Foundation Newsletter

May 2017

Announcement

Insight - International Discourse, New Space Actors, and the Space Symposium

By Victoria Samson, Washington Office Director

Every spring, the space community heads to Colorado Springs for the annual Space Symposium, run by the Space Foundation.  This event, which reportedly had 12,000 participants this year, provides an excellent opportunity to hear updates on trends in U.S. and international space activities, covering civil, commercial, and security space issues. SWF staff also use it to cement relations with other members of the space policy community and leverage each other’s professional contacts in order to carry out SWF’s goal of promoting cooperative solutions for space sustainability and the peaceful uses of outer space...continue reading.

Events

Apr 2-3, 2017
SWF Engaged with Young Leaders at the Space Generation Fusion Forum
Space Generation Fusion Forum is a U.S. space event geared towards university students and young professionals. SWF co-sponsored the sixth annual Fusion Forum in Colorado Springs, Colorado in conjunction with the 32nd Annual Space Symposium. Fifty students and young professionals addressed key issues, including topics on human spaceflight, science missions, national security, and entrepreneurship. 

Apr 5-6, 2017
SWF Co-Hosted Two Events at the Space Foundation's 33rd Annual Space Symposium
The international reception, held on April 5, 2017, brought together several hundred attendees to celebrate the increasingly international nature of the Space Foundation's Space Symposium. On April 6, Executive Director Michael Simpson moderated a luncheon panel discussion which allowed emerging space actors  and two established space actors to discuss how they are handling the changing space domain. All attendees of the luncheon panel received copies of the Handbook for New Actors in Space.

Apr 20-21, 2017
SWF Collaborated with United Nation's Institute for Disarmament Research and The Simons Foundation Canada to Organize the 2017 Space Security Conference
The United Nation's Institute for Disarmament Research's (UNIDIR) Space Security Conference provides a forum for policy dialogue and has been an effective vehicle for informing international space and security policy perspectives. The 2017 conference, organized by UNIDIR in collaboration with SWF, The Simons Foundation, and co-sponsored by the governments of China and Russia, focused on the regime established by the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. SWF Executive Director Michael Simpson presented SWF's Handbook for New Actors in Space to the conference participants, while Washington Office Director Victoria Samson spoke about how space situational awareness is foundational to space security and stability.  

Apr 21, 2017
Principles for Transparency in Active Debris Removal Operations Discussed at SWF-Hosted Workshop at 7th European Space Debris Conference
SWF hosted an invite-only workshop which focused on discussion of initial principles for transparency in operations as the field of active debris removal (ADR) activities approaches initial demonstration missions. ADR refers to a set of technical, engineering, and business approaches to actively remove space debris from orbit. In a small group gathering of technical experts from government, academia, and industry the workshop provided a facilitated discussion of basic principles, key issues, and opportunities to be addressed in order to ensure that ADR activities develop in a safe responsible and transparent matter.

Staff Activities and Presentations

Mar 27-Apr 7, 2017
SWF Staff Participate in the 56th Session of the Legal Subcommittee of UNCOPUOS
SWF Program Manager Ian Christensen and Space Law Advisor Chris Johnson represented SWF at the 56th session of the Legal Subcommittee (LSC) of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was held in Vienna, Austria. The annual LSC meeting brings together delegations from more than 60 countries and 30 permanent observer organizations to discuss international space activities and challenges. 

Mar 31, 2017
Victoria Samson Serves as Expert Commentator for SAIS 2017 Asia Conference
Washington Office Director Victoria Samson participated in the 2017 SAIS Asia Conference in Washington, DC. Ms. Samson served as an expert commentator on the panel, “International Collaboration around the International Space Station: Implications for US-Russia and China Relations." Ms. Samson discussed a paper presented by Mr. Jean-Christophe Mauduit of the Tufts University Fletcher School, and used it as a launching point to discuss the broader complications of the changing perceptions by the national security community about space, how the United States' complicated relationships with China and Russia have affected our ability to cooperate in space, and that investment in space can be a strong incentive to recognize norms of responsible space behavior. 

Apr 14, 2017
Workshop Discusses Technical, Business, and Regulatory Aspects of Small Satellites
Ian Christensen spoke at the Small Satellites Tech, Business & Regulatory Industry Workshop at the European Space Research and Technology Centre of the European Space Agency in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Mr. Christensen discussed small satellites as a disruptive innovation and highlighted related policy and business challenges and opportunities.

Apr 19-20, 2017
Considerations on the Increasing Use of Space for Maritime Domain Awareness
The C-SIGMA Workshop VII, "Collaboration in Space for International Global Maritime Awareness," was held in Lisbon, Portugal and hosted at the European Maritime Safety Agency. The two-day workshop focused on how the current boom in new space-based technology can be used to assist the world to address its challenges in the areas of security and safety, as well as those in protecting the environment and resources of the maritime domain. Project Manager Krystal Wilson spoke about policy issues and opportunities regarding the increasing use of space for maritime domain awareness.

Apr 27, 2017
Panel Discusses Relationship Between Technology Development Efforts In On-Orbit Servicing, Space Debris Remediation, and Satellite Manufacturing
Ian Christensen moderated a panel on the "Necessary Costs of In-Orbit Servicing - Debris Removal, Satellite Maintenance, and Sat-to-Sat Communications" at the Space 2.0 conference in Silicon Valley. The panel featured representatives from D-Orbit, Inc., Space Systems Loral, Surrey Satellite Technology, and The Aerospace Corporation.

Experts in the Media

Apr 4, 2017
Defense & Aerospace Report: Secure World Foundation's Weeden and Samson on Space Policy, Potential Threats
Washington Office Director Victoria Samson and Director of Program Planning Brian Weeden were interviewed by Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian during the CSIS 2017 Space Security Conference in Washington, DC.

Apr 5, 2017
STRATCOM Raises Spectre of Offensive War In Space
Brian Weeden was quoted by Breaking Defense on prospects of new U.S. offensive space capabilities. 

Apr 5, 2017
Interruptor Series, No. 41: Victoria Samson
Victoria Samson was interviewed by Foreign Policy Interrupted on the national security implication of space activities.

Apr 8, 2017
The race to destroy space garbage
Brian Weeden was quoted by BBC.com on the challenges posed by space debris.