As we approach the end of 2023, we look back on a year of news headlines that have reminded us just how fragile peace is, and how terrible a world without peace can be. Peace is not just the absence of conflict, but goes hand-in-hand with a commitment to justice and the resolution of discord by peaceful means. These notions of peace and justice may sound very far removed from what space is all about, but in fact they lie at the heart of addressing the many governance challenges posed by our activities in space, which is a shared domain that is becoming increasingly congested with operational satellites, contaminated by space debris, and contested by rival state and commercial actors. Secure World Foundation’s vision is the secure, sustainable, and peaceful uses of outer space contributing to global stability and benefits on Earth.
SWF Coordinates Industry Statement in Support of International Commitments to Not Conduct ASAT Tests
Our societal reliance on commercial space applications and services continues to grow, with applications spanning communication systems, navigation, Earth observation, and more. These societal benefits are at risk of being disrupted by the continued testing of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons that produce large amounts of orbital debris, such as direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles.
These tests directly threaten the safety of space systems, and the long-term sustainability of the space environment within which they operate, including the future economic development of low Earth orbit. In December 2023, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 77/41 calling upon countries to commit not to conduct such tests. To date, 37 countries have made this commitment.
Given the risk posed by such tests to commercial space activities, 36 commercial space entities from 11 countries signed a Space Industry Statement in Support of International Commitments to Not Conduct Destructive ASAT Tests. For the statement itself and the list of signatories, please go here. If you are interested in signing this statement, please inquire with SWF’s Director of Private Sector Programs, Mr. Ian Christensen.
Secure World Foundation held a virtual launch event on November 14, 2023, at which industry supporters explained why they signed the statement and why their companies consider this to be a critical issue; speakers were Aya Iwamoto (Astroscale), Geetanjali Kamat (Digantara), Agnieszka Lukaszczyk, (Planet), and Jared Stout (Axiom Space).
Location: The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan), Tokyo
Make sure to mark your calendars for this unique opportunity to collaborate with global stakeholders from government, industry, and civil society, all committed to developing solutions for space sustainability.
The 6th Summit for Space Sustainability will be held in coordination with the APAC’s leading commercial space conference SPACETIDE 2024, which will take place in Tokyo from July 8-10, 2024.
Eileen Holtry is the new part-time Finance Manager for Secure World Foundation. Ms. Holtry has over 20 years of senior finance and accounting operations experience supporting nonprofit organizations in the business, health, and human service sectors.
Before joining Secure World Foundation, Ms. Holtry was Director of Finance Operations for a statewide perinatal care nonprofit, a medical and mental health research nonprofit, and a sexual assault care, prevention, and advocacy nonprofit.
With a passion for mission-driven organizations, Ms. Holtry has also served as both a volunteer and board member for a number of local nonprofits and charity organizations. When she is not working or volunteering, Ms. Holtry enjoys hiking, gardening, and restoring old furniture.
SWF Space Sustainability Research Fellowship Results
Verifying Compliance: Constructs to Constrain Counterspace Capabilities
By Benjamin Silverstein
Formerly of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), Benjamin focused his research on what types of behaviors and threats can space situational awareness (SSA) verify, what types of verification are possible in the context of ASAT test prohibitions, and related matters.
Non-Legally Binding Political Commitments On Space Arms Control Norms
By Dr. Olga Volynskaya
A visiting Professor at the College of Law of Prince Sultan University (PSU), Saudi Arabia, Olga’s research focused on the nature and legal effect of non-legally binding political commitments, the recent UNGA resolution on an ASAT missile testing moratorium, national unilateral declarations to not test or conduct ASATs, and related issues.
The 5th Summit for Space Sustainability served as a critical platform to address the pressing need for responsible conduct in space. Amid discussions of international partnerships and the sustainability of outer space activities, the event brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and academics to find concrete solutions.
As SWF prepares for the 6th Summit for Space Sustainability in Japan, review this published wrapup document that features each speaker and panel, a summary of each session, links to the video recordings, and photos from the event.
SWF Hosts Space Sustainability Side Event at GEO Week
On November 7th, Secure World Foundation hosted a side event entitled "Call to Action: Sustainability on Earth Depends on Sustainability in Space,” at the GEO Week 2023 Ministerial Summit in Cape Town, South Africa. This session focused on the threats to the space environment and specifically drew attention to ways the Earth observation community can participate in safeguarding space assets and data. Pontsho Maruping, from the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, and Danielle Wood from MIT spoke with Krystal Azelton from SWF and talked about why this issue is relevant to South Africa and other countries who participate in the Group on Earth Observations. They talked about international efforts such as the Long-term Sustainability Guidelines as well as private efforts such as the Space Sustainability Rating that are occurring to help combat the problem.
November 29 - December 1 | Daejeon, South Korea
SWF and Several Korea Research Institutes Partner to Hold Workshop Focusing on Perspectives of Emerging Space Programs on Space Resources
Secure World Foundation (SWF) partnered with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), and the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) to host the International Workshop on Space Resources Perspectives of Emerging Space Programs, in Daejeon, South Korea from Wednesday, November 29, 2023 to Friday, December 1, 2023. In the first two days of this workshop, international experts presented the science, technology, business, and policy aspects of space resources, providing the audience with a comprehensive view of the issues behind the development of space resources. On the third day, in a workshop-format, the participating experts and agency representatives, focused on cooperation structures to enable more effective partnership between new entrant and established actors in space resources and space exploration activities. Discussions at the event focused on the need to maintain interdisciplinary dialogues to support sustainable space resources activities, and the need for ongoing interactions between new and established actors to ensure identification of participation opportunities and matching of capabilities. A post-workshop report, including a summary of the final day discussions, will be produced and made available online.
November 6-8 | Hybrid; Costa Rica
SWF Executive Director Delivers Opening Remarks at the United Nations Space Law Technical Advisory Mission to Costa Rica
SWF Executive Director, Dr. Peter Martinez, was among the high-level speakers who delivered opening remarks at the United Nations Space Law Technical Advisory Mission to Costa Rica from 6 - 8 November 2023. Secure World Foundation’s Space Law Advisor, Chris Johnson, gave a presentation on State Responsibility and Liability.
November 7 | Washington, DC
SWF Discusses the Future of Space Governance at the Stimson Center
SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden took part in a panel discussion on "The Future of Space Governance" as part of a one-day conference on "A New Era in Space: Global Governance for a Contested Space Domain," which was co-hosted by the Stimson Center and Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. Dr. Weeden's panel focused on the challenges of space governance, identifying both opportunities and barriers for countries to cooperate on space issues. It considered proposals for an international treaty to ban destructive anti-satellite testing, a reinvigorated Outer Space Treaty, a new moon treaty, and the need for new space actors to have a greater role in these policy discussions.
SWF Discusses Space Security Issues at a NATO Conference
NATO Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, the University of Bologna, and the Istituto Affari Internazionali organized the conference, “Space – Exploring NATO’s Final Frontier,” which took place in Bertinoro, Italy, Nov. 8-10, 2023. SWF Director for Space Security and Stability Victoria Samson spoke at the opening plenary of the conference and gave an assessment of risks and threats to the space environment; she also participated in discussions during the rest of the conference on threats to space capabilities.
November 10 | Washington, DC
SWF Discusses Space Sustainability and Space Policy at the SEDS SpaceVision Conference
SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden participated as a panelist in SpaceVision 2023: Parallax which was organized by Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS). The conference brought together students and young professionals from across the United States to engage in panel discussions, hands-on workshops, live competitions, a career fair, and networking events related to the future exploration and use of space.
Dr. Weeden participated in a panel discussion on “Space Sustainability: Responding to Policy Demands” where he was joined by Alex Coultrup from Starfish, Eric Ingram from SCOUT Space, and Luc Riesbeck from Astroscale U.S. The panel discussed why space sustainability was an important and growing issue, various initiatives for managing space threats such as space debris, and how to get involved in a space policy career.
November 10-11 | Paris, France
SWF Actively Participates in 2023 Paris Peace Forum
SWF Director of Private Sector Programs Mr. Ian Christensen and SWF Space Law Advisor Christopher Johnson represented SWF at the 2023 Paris Peace Forum. Mr. Christensen moderated the Roundtable on “Governing In- and On-Orbit Activities: A Path Forward Towards Space Traffic Coordination,” which discussed the relationship between improving space situational awareness systems and coordination of increasing in-orbit activities. Mr. Johnson spoke as part of a panel on the topic of “Fostering Lunar Policy Priorities for Safe and Sustainable Lunar Development.” A recording of this session is available here. Mr. Christensen also spoke as part of the Roundtable on “To Gauge or Not to Gauge: What Unified Paradigm to Assess Sustainable Use of Outer Space?” SWF is a member of the Paris Peace Forum Net Zero Space Initiative.
SWF Discusses China’s Space Collaboration with Africa and Implications for U.S. Policy
SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden participated in a panel discussion on “China’s Space Collaboration with Africa,” which was organized by the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) to discuss their new report on that topic. Julie Klinger, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware, and Temidayo Oniosun, Founder and Managing Director, Space in Africa, co-authored the report and provided an overview of their findings. Dr Weeden and Dr. Kun-Chin Lin, Professor of Military and Security Studies, Department of Spacepower, Air University, provided their perspectives on the implications of the report for U.S. Policy.
SWF Discusses Policy Priorities for Resilience at Seminar on U.S.-Norway Space Corporation
SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden gave a keynote address and participated in a panel discussion at a seminar on “Transatlantic Cooperation on Space Technology and Policy in the Arctic,” which was held in Washington, DC. The seminar was co-hosted by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC, and the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA), in partnership with the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, and featured experts from the United States and Norway who discussed how to raise awareness among both the Norwegian and U.S. authorities about the ongoing transatlantic collaboration in the field of space, as well as common interests and areas where collaboration can be further developed.
Dr. Weeden gave a keynote talk on the importance of the U.S. partnering with allies and the commercial sector to increase the resilience of space capabilities and space governance frameworks and institutions. Later in the agenda, Dr. Weeden participated in a panel discussion on “Access to Space as a Strategic Asset” where he discussed the role of responsive space in resilience.
November 16-17 | Vancouver, British Columbia
SWF Participates in Workshop Discussion of Relationship Between Large Constellations and Astronomy
SWF Director of Private Sector Programs Ian Christensen and SWF Space Law Advisor Christopher Johnson both participated in a workshop organized by the Outer Space Institute on the topic of astronomy and light and spectrum interference resulting from large satellite constellations.
November 28 | Springfield, Virginia
SWF Moderates Panel of Allies and Commercial Partners in Fostering Resilience at GEOINT Community Forum
SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden moderated a panel discussion on "Building Resiliency Through Partnerships" at the annual GEOINT Community Forum organized by the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) in Springfield, VA. Dr. Weeden's panel explored the strategic intersections through which the GEOINT community leverages powerful partnerships with international allies and commercial entities to grow the U.S. advantage and build resiliency.
Dr. Weeden was joined on the panel by Luke Fischer, Chief Executive Officer of SkyFi; Maria Muse-Duncan, Director of the Commercial Capabilities Discovery Office at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; Sanjay Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Geospatial World; and Prashant Shukle, President of Global Geospatial Group and Board Chair of the Open Geospatial Consortium. The panel discussed why resilience was a priority for addressing environmental and hostile space threats, examples of recent successes in leveraging commercial and allied partners, and what some of the remaining challenges are that still need to be addressed.
November 29-30 | Hybrid; Harare, Zimbabwe
SWF Executive Director Addresses SGAC Africa Workshop
SWF Executive Director Peter Martinez gave a virtual presentation on “Space Safety, Sustainability and Security” at the 7th Africa Space Generation Workshop held in Harare, Zimbabwe, Nov. 29-30, 2023. SWF was also delighted to be a sponsor of the workshop. For more information, including the agenda and other speakers, please visit here.
December 13 | Victoria Samson, Dr. Brian Weeden, and Christopher Johnson will serve as panelists at the 2023 Eilene Galloway event on Critical Issues on Space Law in Washington, DC
December 14 | Dr. Brian Weeden will participate at the OECD Space Forum Workshop on the Economics of Space Sustainability Assessing Their Effects in Paris, France
In 2022, the Secure World Foundation established the SWF Space Sustainability Research Fellowship program with the goal of having the research fellows investigate fundamental questions and clarify fundamental concepts in space sustainability. On December 1, 2023, SWF Space Law Advisor Christopher Johnson moderated a discussion and presentation of this year’s Sustainability Research Fellows, Benjamin Silverstein and Dr. Olga Volynskaya.
During this webinar, Benjamin presented his report, Verifying Compliance: Constructs to Constrain Counterspace Capabilities, and Olga presented her report, Non-Legally Binding Political Commitments On Space Arms Control Norms. Watch the webinar as they present their findings and share their conclusions.
