Secure World Foundation Newsletter

October 2018

Insight - Socialization and Implementation of the UN COPUOS Space Sustainability Guidelines

By Peter Martinez, Executive Director
For nearly a decade now, Secure World Foundation has been dedicated to ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities so that space capabilities can continue to contribute to sustainable development, peace, and socioeconomic stability on Earth. We have worked tirelessly with government, academia, and industry to facilitate discussions and promote cooperative solutions for space governance.

A key part of our work has been our engagement with the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), which is the leading international forum for discussion among States regarding cooperation in space activities and for the progressive development and codification of international space law and norms for behavior....continue reading.

Events

Sep 5, 2018
Third Annual Roundtable on Value and Benefit Creation in Commercial Space Held in New York City
SWF, Reed Smith LLP, and the Heinlein Prize Trust held a small, invite-only Roundtable on Value and Benefit Creation in Commercial Space at the offices of Reed Smith. The Roundtable brought together a cross section of space industry representatives, including both service and hardware providers, as well as investors from various stages of the funding cycle including angel investors, venture capital firms, and institutional investors. Themes discussed during the Roundtable included: the changing perception of risk in commercial space; the role of public-private partnerships; and the importance of commonly terminology in commercial space development. A summary report will be published by SWF in the near future. 

Sep 24, 2018
SWF Leads Discussions on Space Situational Awareness and Commercial Rendezvous and Proximity Operations at 2018 AMOS Conference
SWF participated in the 2018 Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance (AMOS) Conference to advance discussions on space situational awareness (SSA) cooperation. SWF helped organize the keynote speakers and panel discussions that began each of the three days of the conference and focused on the role of SSA in deterrence and strategic stability in space, space traffic management (STM) and oversight of commercial space activities, and the role of SSA in supporting best practices for commercial rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO).

During the conference, SWF also partnered with the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) to hold the sixth AMOS Dialogue in Maui which was a small, invite-only discussion on the links between SSA and commercial RPO and satellite servicing. SWF also supported the inaugural EMER-GEN program, a partnership between MEDB and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) to offer young professionals and students mentoring with renowned space leaders; interactive professional development sessions; technical short courses; and networking with other young professionals. SWF helped design a simulation for the EMER-GEN participants to better understand the different perspectives on STM. 

Sep 24, 2018
How Space Data Can Support Global Development Discussed at the 2018 SatSummit Conference
In partnership with Mapbox and DevelopmentSeed, SWF sponsored the third SatSummit conference on satellite data for global development. This year's conference focused on recent developments in this field and convened a unique group of representatives from NGOs, nonprofits, government agencies, and industry representatives. Director of Space Applications Programs, Krystal Wilson, served on the programming committee, moderated a lightning panel on The Unmapped, and led a working group session on policy considerations and obstacles. More information is available on the event page here.

Oct 5, 2018
SWF Supports Space Generation Congress 2018
Director of Space Application Programs Krystal Wilson and Project Manager Josh Wolny helped plan and participated in the Space Generation Advisory Council’s (SGAC) 2018 Space Generation Congress (SGC). This year’s SGC was attended by over 150 students and young professionals participating in three days of high-level lectures, working groups, cultural events, and networking opportunities. SWF is pleased to have been able to sponsor the Working Group on Space Policy, with the goal of exploring how space applications and technologies can be used to address some of the challenges faced in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ms. Wilson served as the subject matter expert for the working group. Mr. Wolny was a delegate and rapporteur of the Working Group on Space Logistics, sponsored by the ArianeGroup.

Staff Activities and Presentations

Sep 4, 2018
SWF Participates in Panel Discussion on Earth Observation and Open Geospatial Software Project
Director of Space Applications Programs Krystal Wilson took part in panel discussion at the annual FOSS4G conference on the "big picture" of the legal and policy frameworks, organizations, best practices and procedures, and new data sources that support the production and dissemination of Earth observations. Ms. Wilson spoke about policy and legal issues in open geospatial projects. Through six days of workshops, presentations, discussions, and cooperation, FOSS4G participants explored effective and relevant geospatial products, standards, and protocols. An overview of the conference is available here.

Sep 6, 2018
The Evolution of Commercial Satellite Servicing and its National Security Implications
Director of Program Planning Brian Weeden gave a keynote presentation at the 2018 U.S. Strategic Command Advanced Operational Law Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. The Conference brought together more than 100 lawyers from the U.S. and allied militaries to talk about current issues in operational military law, including space. Dr. Weeden's keynote provided an overview of advances in commercial rendezvous and proximity operations and on-orbit satellite servicing using examples of specific plans for satellite inspection, life extension, refueling, modular components, and end-of-life services. Dr. Weeden also discussed how these services will have national security implications and several initiatives that could help deal with those implications. 

Sep 6, 2018
9th Annual Billington Cybersecurity Summit Invites Victoria Samson to Speak
Washington Office Director Victoria Samson spoke at the 9th Annual Billington Cybersecurity Summit on "Ensuring the Cybersecurity of Outer Space." Ms. Samson discussed the current use of cyber as a counterspace weapon, the lack of norms for use and thus potential for inadvertent escalation, and stressed the need for increased transparency about known cyberattacks in order to bolster against future attacks. 

Sep 7, 2018
Wilson Center Conference on Canada - U.S. Space Cooperation Discusses Policy Challenges and Principles in Space
Ms. Samson spoke on "Policy Challenges and Principles in the New Space Paradigm" at the Wilson Center's Canada Institute conference, "Over the Horizon: A New Era for Canada-U.S. Space Cooperation." Ms. Samson highlighted how disruptions to the space domain have the potential for destabilizing it unless steps are taken that reflect the new stakeholders and promote the long-term sustainability of space. 

Sep 14, 2018
SWF Participated in First United Nations Conference on Space Law and Policy in Moscow
Space Law Advisor Chris Johnson participated in the First United Nations Conference on Space Law and Policy, co-organized by the Russian Government, and hosted by Roscosmos. The conference explored a number of themes, including promoting the peaceful, responsible use of outer space; challenges and threats to the safety of space operations; and security and the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. Mr. Johnson spoke about the duty of due regard in Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty, and its relevance for space traffic management issues, along with the strengths and shortcomings of new international treaty-making and national regulations to address these issues.

Sep 16, 2018
CONFERS and Industry Standards for Satellite Servicing Discussed During Panel Session at AIAA Space 2018 Conference
Director of Private Sector Programs Ian Christensen presented an update on current status and progress of The Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS) as a part of a panel on "On-Orbit Servicing: Progress and Status of a Revolutionary Capability" at the AIAA Space 2018 Conference in Orlando, Florida. SWF serves as part of the Secretariat for CONFERS, with Advanced Technology International, the University of Southern California’s Space Engineering Research Center (SERC), and the Space Infrastructure Foundation. A video recording of the panel can be found here.

Sep 28, 2018
Major Issues Affecting STM and Future Challenges Presented at the European Space Policy Institute
Ms. Samson gave a presentation on "Major Issues Affecting Space Traffic Management Policy and A Look at Future Challenges" at the European Space Policy Institute's 12th Autumn Conference in Vienna, Austria. She spoke about changes to the space domain, the special problems that commercial space's increasing role in space could create for the international community more used to dealing with nation-states, and went through issues facing SSA and STM that need to be dealt with in the near-term.

Experts in the Media

Sep 6, 20118
Two special cases: space systems and cyber deterrence.
Victoria Samson quoted by the CyberWire on the need for norms and sharing threat intelligence.

Sep 10, 2018
Space as a War Domain
Ms. Samson quoted by GovernmentCIO Media on need for information sharing and transparency between industry and government.

Sep 17, 2018
Trump's Space Force struggling to launch
Brian Weeden quoted by Politico on challenges of creating the Space Force.

Sep 20, 2018
How China's GPS 'rival' Beidou is plotting to go global
Dr. Weeden quoted by the BBC on the challenges China faces with the BeiDou GNSS.

Sep 22, 2018
Trump's Space Force may come with a big price tag, and no one can agree how to structure it
Dr. Weeden quoted by The Verge on the challenges of creating the Space Force.

Sep 24, 2018
Inside the epic debate on rethinking our 50-year-old Outer Space Treaty
Josh Wolny interviewed by Fast Company on current space sustainability issues.