SWF Plays Key Role in 66th International Astronautical Congress

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

During the week of October 12,  2015, over 3,000 aerospace professionals from around the world met in Jerusalem, Israel for the 2015 International Astronautical Congress (IAC). Through continued support of young professionals and students, and active involvement in the IAC’s agenda, SWF once more played a key role in the conference.

SWF Washington Office Director Victoria Samson presented "Self-Defense in Space: Perspectives, Analogies, and Prospects", co-authored by SWF Technical Advisor Brian Weeden. Ms. Samson also participated in the IAF Space Security committee meeting.

SWF Project Manager Laura Delgado-López served as rapporteur for the session on "Regional Cooperation in Space: Policies, Governance, and Legal Tools," chaired by SWF Advisory Committee member Ambassador Ciro Arévalo Yepes. Ms. Delgado-Lopez also presented a paper titled "Regional Efforts to Advance Space Sustainability: Spotlight on Latin America" during the session, which was co-authored by Victoria Samson. Ms. Delgado-Lopez was named rapporteur for the IAF's Regional Group for Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), also chaired by Ambassador Arévalo Yepes.

In collaboration with 13 other contributors, SWF Project Manager Christopher Johnson co-authored three papers: “How simple terms mislead us: The pitfalls of thinking about outer space as a commons,” “Mars Treaty-making Workshop Results and Insights from ISU SSP15,” and “Encouraging legal awareness in STEM graduates: Lessons learned from Space Generation Congress 2014.” Mr. Johnson was the sole author of "Clarity in Understanding the Prohibition on National Appropriation in Article II of the Outer Space Treaty," and also assisted the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) as the Assistant Executive Secretary during their annual Board of Directors Meeting and General Assembly, both held on the margins of the IAC. 

SWF also hosted a lunch with Rishiraj Baruah, Andrea Harrington, and Olga S. Stelmakh who received the the 2015 SWF young professionals scholarship and presented their work in different technical sessions during the conference. Copies of their papers are available here.