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Secure World Foundation Newsletter - June 2015

Announcements

June 1, 2015

Welcome to Ian Christensen and Maria Manoli!

SWF is pleased to announce that Mr. Ian Christensen will be joining our staff on June 16, 2015, as a new Project Manager focusing on engaging with the commercial space community while also supporting other SWF projects. Mr. Christensen brings with him eight years of professional experience as a consultant and analyst focused on international and domestic commercial space, satellite, and aviation markets.

Ms. Maria Manoli has joined SWF for the summer as a Jr. Project Manager. Currently a practicing lawyer in Greece, an LLM Candidate at McGill IASL, and an Erin J.C. Arsenault Fellow in Space Governance, Ms. Manoli will be in the Colorado office working on a study of the evolving international law concepts of space commerce, with particular focus on the development of space mineral resources.

Please join us in welcoming them to the team!

June 1, 2015

SWF Announces Young Professional Scholarships for the 2015 IAC in Jerusalem, Israel

The Secure World Foundation is pleased to announce that it will be accepting applications from young professionals for scholarships to aid in traveling to present papers at this year's International Astronautical Congress (IAC). The goal of these scholarships is to provide young space professionals an opportunity to participate in one of the most prestigious international space conferences to further their professional development and inject new ideas into the community. Please note that the deadline to apply is June 22, 2015; applications can be found here. http://swfound.org/news/all-news/2015/06/swf-announces-young-professionals-scholarships-for-iac-2015-in-jerusalem/

Recent SWF Events

May 20, 2015

SWF Co-sponsors Regional Flood Modelling Workshop in Puebla, Mexico

As a member of the Working Group on Capacity Building and Data Democracy of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, SWF co-sponsored the second 2015 flood modelling capacity-building workshop celebrated in Puebla, Mexico. Over 25 participants representing 11 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region took part in the week-long workshop, designed to improve the ability of disaster management practitioners to use a recently released high resolution digital elevation model. http://swfound.org/events/2015/higher-resolution-srtm-data-flood-modelling-workshop-mexico/

Publications

May 8, 2015

Executive Director Michael Simpson and SWF Project Manager Laura Delgado López Co-author Article on Space Sustainability as a Business Problem

Dr. Simpson and Ms. Delgado López co-authored an article in the March issue of ROOM: The Space Journal. In “Contested, Congested, and Invested,” they present space sustainability as a business problem not just as a threat, but also as an opportunity for collaborative problem solving to complex challenges, such as space debris.   http://swfound.org/news/all-news/2015/05/michael-simpson-and-laura-delgado-l%C3%B3pez-co-author-article-on-space-sustainability-in-room-journal/

May 18, 2015

SWF Releases Updated Fact Sheet on Chinese ASAT Testing in Space

SWF's updated fact sheet on Chinese anti-satellite (ASAT) testing in space provides an overview of what is known and what is theorized about China’s ASAT testing based on publicly available information.   http://swfound.org/media/115643/china_asat_fact_sheet_may2015.pdf

May 21, 2015

Summary Report of Regional Workshop on the Long-term Sustainability of Space Activities

The summary report of the two-day workshop, organized in collaboration with the Central American Association for Aeronautics and Space (ACAE) and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, includes an overview of the program and highlights from the discussion.   http://swfound.org/media/198331/ltsworkshop_summaryreport_f.pdf

Staff Activities and Presentations

May 12-13, 2015

SWF Technical Advisor Brian Weeden contributed to the 2015 SSA Conference in Hyattsville, Maryland

Mr. Weeden helped lead breakout discussions on active debris removal and space traffic management and also spoke about the policy challenges in improving space situational awareness data sharing. Presentations from the closing panel discussion of this conference can be found herehttp://ssa2015.com/

May 22, 2015

Executive Director Michael Simpson Emcees at ISDC in Toronto, Canada

Dr. Simpson participated in this year's International Space Development Conference (ISDC) attending the sponsoring National Space Society's (NSS) annual Board of Governors meeting and serving as Master of Ceremonies for the ISDC's gala dinner. A member of the NSS Board of Governors since 2005, Dr. Simpson has been instrumental in increasing the attention of the ISDC on issues of space policy, space sustainability, and space commerce. Next year's ISDC will take place in San Juan, Puerto Rico from May 18-22 under the theme "A Bridge to Commercial Space." http://swfound.org/news/all-news/2015/06/executive-director-michael-simpson-emcees-at-isdc/

May 26-28, 2015

Exceutive Director Michael Simpson addresses Earth Observation Conference in Bonn, Germany

Speaking on the theme, "Setting the agenda on the relevance of Earth observation," as part of a high level panel opening the United Nations/Germany International Conference - Earth Observation - Global solutions for the challenges of sustainable development in societies at risk, Dr. Simpson highlighted lessons learned from the Foundation's recent work in capacity building. His intervention emphasized the need to improve our understanding of the needs of people in the field and the importance of expanding the earth observation community's capacity to support disaster prevention and resilience efforts. http://swfound.org/news/all-news/2015/06/executive-director-michael-simpson-addresses-earth-observation-conference-in-bonn,-germany/

May 28, 2015

SWF Project Manager Laura Delgado López speaks at Geospatial World Forum in Lisbon, Portugal

Speaking at the Geospatial Policies session, Ms. Delgado López discussed the policy questions emerging from the potential role of smallsats as operational platforms in the fields of imaging and weather, and efforts to address these questions within the United States.   http://swfound.org/news/all-news/2015/05/laura-delgado-l%C3%B3pez-speaks-at-geospatial-world-forum/