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Secure World Foundation Newsletter
May 2022
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Insight - Guarding Against Greenwashing in Space
by Director of Private Sector Programs Ian Christensen
The private sector is increasingly becoming the most active operator in the space domain. Approximately one-third of currently active satellites are operated by a single company — SpaceX — with several other companies planning to add thousands more in the coming years. This trend draws attention to the role of commercial actors in ensuring the safety and sustainability of the operating environment in space, as both a business domain and as a shared environment. Concurrently, discussions of — and voluntary commitments to — Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) principles in the space sector are becoming more common.
But are these commitments resulting in meaningful performance? Or are they “greenwashing” — mere marketing pledges or virtue signaling with little actual impact on sustainability?
Read More here
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Announcements
SWF Provides Scholarships for Young Professionals to Attend IAC
Secure World Foundation is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications from young professionals for scholarships to aid in traveling to present papers at the 2022 International Astronautical Congress (IAC), September 18-22, in Paris, France.
The goal of these scholarships is to provide young space professionals an opportunity to participate in one of the most prestigious international space conferences, further their professional development, and inject new ideas into the community. This application is open to young professionals 35 years old or younger as of the start of the IAC, working in the space field, and who have had an abstract accepted for presentation at the 2022 IAC. Please click here to apply.
Summit for Space Sustainability Speakers Announced
The 4th Summit for Space Sustainability, co-hosted by the SWF and the UKSA, on June 22-23 is just 2 months away! We are thrilled to announce the first round of speakers and panelists who will be joining the Summit at the Science Museum in London, with more to come. Click here for the full list of speakers.
Don’t forget to register to claim your spot online or in-person at the Science Museum!
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Publications
Translations of Counterspace Report Executive Summary Now Available
The Executive Summary of the 2022 Global Counterspace Report is now available in Spanish, French, Russian, and Chinese. Please click here to view the translations, full report and revisions.
SWF Statement on US Policy to Commit not to Conduct Destructive ASAT Tests
On April 18, 2022, the U.S. government announced that it was committing itself not to conduct destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile tests. As an organization that has long called for such a measure, the Secure World Foundation welcomes and applauds this action and its positive implications for the long-term sustainability of space activities. Read more here.
Updated Chapter in Outer Space Law by Chris Johnson
The Second Edition of Outer Space Law: Legal Policy and Practice features a chapter by Space Law Advisor Chris Johnson. The updated book remains aimed at readers looking to understand the key issues relevant to the space sector, by also emphasising the practical application of those issues.
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Events
April 7, 2022
The Growing Need for Space Sustainability: Satellite Servicing's Role
The UK Space Agency and Secure World Foundation co-hosted an event at Space Symposium looking ahead to the Summit for Space Sustainability, to be held in London in June 2022. In this Salon, the focus was on the key topic of satellite servicing. Speakers from across the sector discussed how industry and government can work together to develop new capabilities like active debris removal, life extension or orbital manufacturing, and their importance to a sustainable space economy.
April 18-22, 2022
Harvard Space Week
SWF sponsored this year's Harvard Space Week, the Harvard & MIT Space Consortium’s annual outreach series of events, during which the Consortium promoted exchanges between affiliated top experts, business and community leaders, faculty, researchers, educators, students, and alumni. Space Law Advisor Chris Johnson introduced the film "Gravity'" as part of the public film festival and spoke on a panel organized by Harvard SEDS.
April 20, 2022
Tracking Developments in Counterspace Weapons
SWF and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) co-hosted an event on "Tracking Developments in Counterspace Weapons". The event discussed the recent developments and trends in global counterspace capabilities in the 2022 SWF Global Counterspace Capabilities report and the CSIS 2022 Space Threat Assessment. as well as their relation to current events. A recording of the event and transcript can be found here.
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Staff Activities and Presentations
April 3, 2022
SWF Leads Discussions on Norms, ASAT Testing, and Space Debris with Next-Generation Leaders
SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden participated on behalf of SWF in this year's edition of the Space Generation Advisory Committee (SGAC) Fusion Forum, held just prior to the 2022 Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, CO. Dr. Weeden moderated a panel of international military leaders to discuss norms of behavior in space and served as a guest expert for a breakout group discussion on what steps can be taken to prevent or ban ASAT testing in space that creates orbital debris.
April 5, 2022
Brian Weeden Discusses Space Traffic Management at UNSPACECOM Space Law Conference
Dr. Weeden participated in a panel discussion on space traffic management at the 2022 U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) Space Law Conference.
The conference was held April 4-5, 2022, at the U.S. AIr Force Academy in Colorado Springs and brought together legal experts from the military, government, and academia to discuss responsible behavior in space. During his panel discussion, Dr. Weeden provided an overview of U.S. policy efforts on STM since 2010 and discussed with the other panelists how these efforts could help develop responsible behaviors in outer space.
April 6, 2022
SWF Participates in United Nations Disarmament Commission Working Group II
Washington Office Director Victoria Samson presented at a hybrid meeting of the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC)'s Working Group II. The group was examining information exchange on space policies. Her presentation covered trends in national space military policies, the benefits of having regular exchanges on these policies, and her thoughts on how transparency and confidence building measures for outer space security could be better implemented.
April 8, 2022
Chris Johnson Participates in NIU Law Space Symposium
Space Law Advisor Chris Johnson presented on international space governance at the Northern Illinois University Law Review 2022 Symposium on Sustainable Developments in Space Law.
April 11, 2022
Victoria Samson Participates in U.S. Space Command Leadership Conference
SWF Washington Office Director Victoria Samson presented on "New Concepts for Space Deterrence" at the inaugural U.S. Space Command Leadership Conference co-sponsored by with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and held April 11-12, 2022, at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The theme of this conference was “Operationalizing Deterrence in the Space Domain.”
April 20, 2022
Ian Christensen Speaks at Event on Orbital Capacity Thresholds
SWF Director of Private Sector Programs Ian Christensen particpated as a panelist at a European Space Policy Institute virtual event launching the ESPI report "Limited Orbital Environments: Capacity Approaches to Outer Space." Mr. Christensen's remarks focused on the need to build multistakeholder interactions to understand the relevancy of orbital carrying capacity as a tool for managing the shared space environment.
April 21, 2022
Victoria Samson Joins Virtual Panel on UN Open-ended Working Group
Ms. Samson participated in a panel discussing the UN's Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) at a joint online event hosted by BASIC and the Third Nuclear Age Project at the University of Leicester. She provided an overview of the state of multilateral space security discussions and discussed the resolutions that led to the creation of the OEWG. The panel discussed possible topics of OEWG and what might be reasonably expected from the negotiations, given the recent U.S. commitment not to conduct destructive ASAT tests.
April 25, 2022
Peter Martinez Highlights Emerging Issues in the Development of the African Space Arena
Executive Director Peter Martinez delivered a keynote titled "Cross-cutting Issues that Should be Kept in the Development of the African Space Arena" at the NewSpace Africa Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme of the conference was “Making Africa the New Hotspot for Space Business."
April 27, 2022
Brian Weeden Discusses Space Traffic Management at the 2022 Space Weather Workshop
Dr. Weeden participated in a panel discussion on "Space Traffic Coordination and Space Situational Awareness" as part of the 2022 Space Weather Workshop organized by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science (CPAESS), along with a community-based organizing committee and co-sponsored by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, the NSF Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, and the NASA Heliophysics Division. Dr. Weeden gave a short series of remarks on "Muddling Towards Space Traffic Management" that summarized the domestic U.S. and international efforts to define and develop a space traffic management regime.
April 28, 2022
Victoria Samson Presents on the Weaponization of Space
Victoria Samson gave a presentation to the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland, titled, "Can the Weaponization of Outer Space be Prevented?" She discussed major findings of the recent SWF Global Counterspace Capabilities: A Threat Assessment, as well as the recent U.S. announcement that it commits not to conduct ASAT missile tests and the state of multilateral negotiations on space security.
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Click here for the latest SWF media appearances. This month, SWF staff and publications were featured in Popular Mechanics, POLITICO, Washington Examiner, National Defense Magazine and more!
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Now Available: Transparency in Space Dashboard
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