SWF Staff Discuss Evolution of the Commercial Space Sector and Legal Implications from Military Applications

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Krystal Azelton with her fellow panelists at the UN-L Fall Space Law Conference. Photo credit: UN-L 

SWF Director of Space Applications Programs Ms. Krystal Azelton and Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden both participated in the 2023 Fall Space Law Conference organized by the University of Nebraska's Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program on September 29th in Washington, DC.  The annual conference brings together legal experts and students to discuss current challenges in military and commercial space law.

Ms. Azelton participated in a panel discussion on "Current Dynamics and Looming Challenges in Commercial Space" and spoke about how the remote sensing sector was evolving, and how that in turn was challenging policy and regulation of that sector by governments. She also highlighted how the public perception of commercial space is changing, and how that might create challenges for the space community if not addressed. Dr. Weeden participated in another panel discussion on "Legal Questions about Growing Military Uses of U.S. Commercial Satellites" where he discussed how the growing use of commercial space capabilities to support terrestrial armed conflicts was created new policy and legal challenges that needed to be addressed.