SWF Moderates Panel on Using Satellite Servicing to Enable Responsible and Sustainable Space Activities

Thursday, July 29, 2021

SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden moderated a virtual panel discussion on "Enabling Responsible & Sustainable Space Operations" as part of the 2021 Satellite Show's Future Space Digital Forum. Dr. Weeden was joined by Mr. Peter Kant, CEO of Accion Systems; Ms. Jill Mcguire, Associate Director for the Exploration and In-Space Services (ExIS) Projects Division at NASA Goddard; and Ms. Carolyn Belle, Director of Advanced Systems for Astroscale U.S. The panel discussed how the definition of space sustainability was changing as a result of trends in the space domain and the new capabilities that satellite servicing can provide to help promote sustainability. The panelists provided overviews of the satellite servicing technologies and capabilities their organizations are developing and testing, as well as the remaining technical and non-technical challenges to overcome. The panel concluded by discussing how to get satellite operators to adopt these new capabilities and the role of governments in incenting responsible and sustainable behavior.