Doubling Down: Actions to Progress on Both Space Debris Mitigation and Remediation
By SWF Senior Director, Private Sector Programs, Ian Christensen
It’s been an active spring on the space debris mitigation front. The European Space Agency has announced 12 countries and more than 40 companies and NGOs have joined as initial signatories to the Zero Debris Charter, which establishes the goal that by 2030, future space missions should be conducted in a way that creates no net addition of debris in orbit. A workshop focused on the technical details of implementation of this Charter is took place in late June. Similarly, in April 2024, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced its intent to have “Debris Free Space Missions (DFSM)” by 2030 (in which all space missions conducted by Indian space actors should be “debris-free”). In the United States, in early May, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stated its intent to refresh the record concerning orbital debris mitigation requirements for large constellations, ultimately seeking “to improve and clarify its rules” on this topic. The FCC’s Chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, also issued a statement on May 29, 2024, noting, "Our orbital debris mitigation efforts will help preserve the orbital environment to protect services we rely on and allow new services to be launched.”
Bittersweet Farewell to Seth Walton, SWF Program Associate
We are saddened to announce the news of Seth Walton’s departure from SWF as Program Associate. Mr. Walton has been an important part of SWF’s success over the last year and a half, assisting our program staff with various events, research and project activities. He has gone above and beyond, and we are so thankful for his work here. We wish him the very best in his next endeavor!
2024 Dr. Mike Simpson Scholarship Update
Thank you to everyone who applied for the 2024 Dr. Mike Simpson Scholarship to IAC in Milan. This year, we received an impressive array of over 100 abstracts from ambitious young professionals across the globe. Following an exhaustive review and assessment process, we have notified the winners of the 2024 scholarship. These individuals will travel and participate in the IAC, showcasing their unique insights and potential. If you have not received an email from SWF notifying you as a winner, we encourage you to apply next year!
SWF Published an Updated Fact Sheet on
Space Situational Awareness
SWF has published an update to its Fact Sheet on Space Situational Awareness (SSA). SSA is the ability to accurately characterize the space environment and activities in space and is the foundation of nearly all civil, commercial, and national security space activities. Improving SSA is also important to ensuring the long-term sustainability, safety, and security of space. The fact sheet provides an overview of what SSA is, why it is important to space sustainability, and global SSA capabilities.
SWF and the Open Lunar’s Lunar Policy Platform Side-Event at the 2024 COPUOS Plenary
SWF Senior Director, Private Sector Programs, Ian Christensen and Director, Legal Affairs and Space Law, Christopher Johnson attended the 2024 UN COPUOS Plenary in Vienna, Austria. On June 15, SWF and Lunar Policy Platform (LPP) co-hosted a side event supported by the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) on “Reflections on the UN Conference on Sustainability Lunar Activities: Priorities and Capacity Building.” The event featured opening remarks from Aarti Holla-Maini, Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, followed by a panel discussion co-moderated by Dr. Antonino Salmeri (LPP) and Mr. Ian Christensen (SWF), featuring representatives from governments, science, and industry. Following the event, all participants were invited to a networking reception.
July 11-12 | Hybrid; Tokyo, Japan
6th Summit for Space Sustainability
The 6th Summit for Space Sustainability was held in Tokyo, Japan on July 11-12. This conference was full of substantive discussions by excellent speakers, distinguished keynotes, and valuable networking opportunities for both in-person and online attendees.
We were honored to be joined by over 550 guests from all over the world in person and online. We are also thankful for our numerous sponsors and partners for making this such an amazing event.
SWF is committed to continuing the conversations and efforts towards finding solutions in space sustainability, and to inspire the next generations of leaders in space sustainability. More information about the outcomes of the 6th Summit for Space Sustainability will be shared in the coming weeks.
June 11 | Virtual
SWF Presents to the Space Industry Association of Australia
SWF Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Victoria Samson gave a presentation to members of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) on “Global Counterspace Capabilities and Support for a DA-ASAT Missile Test Moratorium.” During her presentation, she detailed the current state of counterspace capabilities around the world, discussed the commitment made by 37 countries to not conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile tests, and explained the relevance of both issues to the commercial sector.
June 11-13 | Seoul, Republic of Korea
SWF Speaks on Space Situational Awareness at the 2024 International Space Summit
SWF Senior Director, Private Sector Programs, Ian Christensen spoke at the 2024 International Space Summit, hosted by CONTEC from June 11 to 13, 2024, in Seoul, Republic of Korea. His remarks focused on the role of space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities in achieving space sustainability.
June 18 | Virtual
SWF Speaks at Asia Undercurrent Webinar
SWF Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Victoria Samson was a panelist at the 20th iteration of the Japanese government’s Prime Minister’s Office and Nikkei’s long-running webinar series, Asia Undercurrent. During the episode she was on, “Space, The Next Frontier: The new era of space development, competition, and cooperation,” Ms. Samson discussed the way in which very large constellations have changed space governance, the global proliferation of counterspace capabilities, and geopolitical competition regarding the future of the Moon.
June 25-28 | Darmstadt, Germany
SWF Participates in the European Space Agency’s Zero Debris Week
SWF Senior Director, Private Sector Programs, Ian Christensen attended the European Space Agency’s (ESA) “Zero Debris Week” in Darmstadt, Germany. This four-day workshop aims to co-create the zero debris technical book that will be expanded to include several activities related to the application of the zero debris approach.
June 26-28 | New Delhi, India
SWF Speaks at the India Space Congress
SWF Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Victoria Samson spoke about space sustainability and security at the India Space Congress, organized by the SatCom Industry Association (SIA-India) and held in New Delhi, India. During the panel, “Ensuring A Sustainable Future for Space Exploration,” she talked about the space environmental threats posed by anti-satellite tests, the global proliferation of counterspace capabilities, and how a more prominent commercial space sector has affected space governance mechanisms.
August 8 | SWF will host a side event, “Masterclass: Communicating the Value of Space Activities” at the 38th Annual Small Satellite Conference in Logan, Utah
September 10-11 | Ian Christensen will speak at the Space Sustainability Forum 2024 hosted by the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva, Switzerland.
September 10-11 | SWF will co-host with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research the Outer Space Security Conference (OS24) in Geneva, Switzerland
September 17-20 | SWF is co-organizing the 2024 AMOS Conference’s Policy Forum and Dialogue in Maui, Hawaii
Expanded Set of Translations of Executive Summaries of the Global Counterspace Capabilities Report Now Available
The Secure World Foundation is pleased to announce the publication of the Executive Summaries of the Global Counterspace Capabilities report in 8 languages. These concise documents profile the counterspace landscape, providing a global overall summary in addition to overviews of key countries. Translations are provided in the following languages:
Arabic (العربية)
Chinese (中文)
English
French (Français)
Japanese (日本語)
Portuguese (Português)
Russian (Русский)
Spanish (Español)
All versions of the Executive Summary of the Global Counterspace Capabilities report are now available on our website at the link below.
