SWF Staff Participates in Roundtable Discussing ASAT Test Ban

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Washington Office Director Victoria Samson participated in an expert roundtable on the possibility of an anti-satellite (ASAT) test ban, hosted by the Centre for Global Law and Governance at the University of St. Andrews’ School of International Relations. The discussion began with Ms. Samson briefing out the state of counterspace capabilities globally.  Then Prof. Michael Byers discussed a recent open letter from the Outer Space Institute at the University of British Columbia (UBC) which urged the UN to take up consideration of a ban of debris-generating ASAT tests. Next Sarah Thiele, also of the UBC, discussed the technical analysis that backed up their call for an ASAT test ban, including modeling of debris created from earlier ASAT tests and how megaconstellations have complicated this security picture.  All three panelists then discussed this issue by situating it its technological, scientific, legal and diplomatic contexts and considered its possibility for success. 

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