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Secure World Foundation Newsletter
October 2020
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Insight - Encouraging the Recovery and Use of Space Resources: Recommendations for Governmental Policies and Engagement
By SWF Staff
The push for space-resource utilization (SRU) continues apace as stakeholders seek new ways to make the dream a reality. This is especially true among policymakers in the United States, but they are not alone. In April, the White House issued Executive Order 13914, on Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources. In May, NASA announced the Artemis Accords, followed by a solicitation in September to private actors to buy lunar soil. In August, the Outer Space Institute, a Canadian organization, issued an open letter signed by prominent space experts and professionals from all over the world, calling on the President of the UN General Assembly to launch a formal process for a new treaty on SRU. And recently, a Chinese company announced that it would be launching its own mission to the Moon to test resource-extraction technologies.
All of these activities indicate that there is a growing momentum to formalize and normalize SRU. And while there continue to be legal and political debates about the manner in which space-resource recovery will take place, it seems almost certain that "space mining" will happen at some point in the near future. Secure World Foundation (SWF) has both actively participated in space resources governance discussions and analyzed the legal, political, economic and social aspects of space-resource utilization. The following is an analysis of some of the key outstanding issues, along with policy recommendations that could make space-resource utilization a sustainable and stable reality.
Read More here.
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Announcements
SWF Announces Staff Transition
SWF is proud to announce that Project Manager Joshua Wolny has accepted a position at the U.S. Department of State as Foreign Affairs Officer in the Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science Office of Space and Advanced Technology. While the Foundation regrets his departure, SWF takes this opportunity to thank Mr. Wolny for his work over the past four years and looks forward to continuing to work with him in his new capacity.
SWF Thanks Interns Kaila Pfrang, Renata Knittel Kommel, and Kathryn Walsh
SWF recently said farewell to our latest group of summer interns. Each student provided substantive support to key SWF programs. Ms. Pfrang joined SWF for a 2-month internship from MIT and worked with Director of Program Planning Brian Weeden on a variety of space security and sustainability topics. Ms. Walsh joined SWF in May and worked with Director of Private Sector Programs Ian Christensen, and project partner Caelus Foundation, on a research project examining misperceptions between U.S. and Chinese commercial space industry stakeholders. Finally, Ms. Knittel Kommel primarily supported the Summit for Space Sustainability and helped transition it from an in-person to successful virtual event.
Summit for Space Sustainability Student Essay Competition Winners Announced
SWF is dedicated to encouraging the next generation of space professionals to address the challenges of space sustainability. In this spirit, it hosted this competition as a way of promoting ideas and participation from students. After a rigorous scoring and evaluation process, five students were chosen as winners: Nick Barraca, Clara Keng, Adam Kimbrough, Elwyn Sirieys, and Jack Thompson. The authors were acknowledged during the Summit and each received a $500 prize. SWF congratulates the winners and thanks all of the participants to the 2nd Summit for Space Sustainability Student Essay Competition!
Video Recordings from the Summit for Space Sustainability Now Available
We are pleased to announce that video recordings of keynotes and panel presentations from the 2nd Summit for Space Sustainability are now available.
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Publications
Sep 1, 2020
Chris Johnson Publishes "Renewed Ambitions in Space-Exploration Lawmaking" in The Air and Space Lawyer
In this article, Space Law Advisor Chris Johnson highlights the emergence of American lawmaking specifically focused on space exploration and utilization, detailing several recent initiatives.
Sep 17, 2020
Ian Christensen Co-Authors Article In The New Space Journal
Director of Private Sector Programs Ian Christensen, along with several coauthors, has published an article entitled "Communicating Value: Investigating Terminology Challenges in 'Newspace' and 'Commercial Space'" in the New Space Journal. The article discusses the ambiguous use of different terms to describe activities in the private sector development of space; and how that leads to misperceptions and potential tension through poor communication. The article was the result of a joint research project between Secure World Foundation and Caelus Foundation.
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Events
Sep 2, 2020
Workshop on Responsible Space Behavior
The RAND Space Enterprise Initiative, in conjunction with Secure World Foundation, hosted an invitation-only virtual workshop on "Responsible Space Behavior." This workshop convened select space experts from commercial, civil, international, and national security circles to create a common understanding of the need for, hurdles to and next steps for responsible space behavior. It was the third of three workshops; the previous two focused on bringing in European and Asia-Pacific perspectives. This discussion was not for attribution, but some of the takeaways were presented by Mr. Bruce McClintock (RAND) at the 2020 AMOS Conference.
Sep 9-11, 2020
Summit for Space Sustainability
SWF hosted the 2nd Summit for Space Sustainability for a live virtual audience of 540 participants from 42 different countries. Keynote speakers included NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, United Launch Alliance's VP of Major Development Mark Peller, and Founder and CEO of Astroscale Nobu Okada. Daily panel discussions and interactive sessions explored multiple areas of space sustainability from incenting responsible behavior, to space forces around the world, spectrum management, and more. The event was made possible with the support of our sponsors: AGI, Astroscale, ESA, Northern Space and Security, Space Logistics, ULA, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Virgin Orbit, and our media partners: GVF, JSSE, Satnews, SpaceNews, and SpaceWatchGlobal. For more information, including the event recording and digital media, please visit the event website.
Sep 16, 2020
"Serving Society with Space Data" Webinar Series Concludes
In the final installment of the "Serving Society with Space Data," the session focused on how data derived from space technology can contribute to monitoring projects across all the Sustainable Development Goals as well as how satellite information is being used to track the global indicator framework for the SDGs. Recording of this discussion, and all five of the earlier panels, can be viewed here.
Sep 19, 2020
Second Sino-U.S. Space Commercialization Workshop
Secure World Foundation and the Chinese Society of Astronautics co-hosted a half day session under the theme of a Perspectives Dialogue: Key Views for Areas of Interest and Understanding. The purpose of this event was to share and understand perspectives from both US and Chinese stakeholders on how space commercialization is happening in both countries, and what can be done to increase transparency between both commercial contexts. Held on the side of the 2020 China Space Conference, this session was part of an ongoing series of events being co-organized by SWF, Caelus Foundation, and the Chinese Society of Astronautics as a platform for further exchanges and discussion of commercial space developments in the two countries.
Sep 24, 2020
SWF Leads Discussions on Cislunar Activities, Space Norms, and Industry Best Practices at 2020 Virtual AMOS Conference
SWF continued its support of and participation in the 2020 Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference, which was held virtually September 16-18, 2020. Brian Weeden, Victoria Samson, and Ian Christensen all moderated panels as part of the Policy Forum to discuss cislunar space activities, norms of behavior for space activities, and industry best practices. SWF also held the eighth annual AMOS Dialogue virtually on September 21 to discuss science and technology priorities for enhancing space situational awareness and space traffic management.
Sep 24, 2020
Moon Dialogs Research Salon: Registration Mechanisms for the Moon
The Moon Dialogs hosted their fifth online research salon to discuss registration practices of space objects and activities, with Jessy Kate Schingler of the Open Lunar Foundation moderating a discussion between Michael Newman, Legal Officer at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The video recording of the event can be found here.
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Staff Activities and Presentations
Sep 8, 2020
SWF Participates in Discussion on Governance of Global Moon Exploration
Ian Christensen spoke as a panelist at a webinar Governance of Global Moon Exploration and Settlement Episode 3 - Sharing the Benefits of Lunar Activities hosted by the Moon Village Association. His remarks focused on perspectives on benefit sharing methods for space resources activities. Other speakers included representatives from the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), the Nigerian Outer Space Agency; the Chilean Space Association (ACHIDE); and the Global Space Law Center at Cleveland State University. A recording of the event can be found here, and Mr. Christensen''s presentation is available here.
Sep 17, 2020
SWF Leads Discussion on Chinese Perspectives on Military Space Programs
Brian Weeden moderated a discussion on China's military space program as part of the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) annual PRC Space Conference.
Sep 18, 2020
SWF Contributes Perspectives on Developing National Spacepower
Brian Weeden participated in a panel discussion organized by the MITRE Corporation on developing national spacepower.
Sep 24, 2020
SWF Staff Discuss State of Space Security with Schriever Scholars
Victoria Samson, Brian Weeden, Chris Johnson, and Josh Wolny held a virtual meeting with Schriever Space Scholars: students who are studying under Air Command and Staff College's Department of Spacepower. Many of these students are career space officers, now a part of the U.S. Space Force. Others are joint military members, international space officers and interagency partners. SWF staff spoke about the current state of space security and stability, international cooperative efforts, and future issues that may disrupt the space domain.
Sep 28-29, 2020
SWF Participates in Virtual Global Aerospace Summit
As part of the Capacity Development & Next Gen Sessions at the Global Aerospace Conference, Krystal Azelton spoke on a panel entitled "How can space empower the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?." The discussion focused on the different regional perspectives as we all share a common mission towards the involvement of the next generation of space leaders in the achievement of the SDG. Josh Wolny also attended the event and participated in a panel on aerospace vulnerabilities and space weather.
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Experts in the Media
Sep 3, 2020
Brian Weeden Appears on The Diplomat''s Asia Geopolitics Podcast to Discuss Space Security and Geopolitical Competition
Sep 8, 2020
Brian Weeden quoted by DefenseOne on New U.S. Presidential Policy on Cybersecurity Principles for Space Systems
Sep 9, 2020
Brian Weeden Quoted by NPR on the Potential Implications of China''s New Orbital Spaceplane
Sep 10, 2020
Space.com Recaps NASA Administrator''s Lunar Soil Announcement at Summit for Space Sustainability
Sep 10, 2020
Chris Johnson Discusses Current Issues in Space Law on the Cold Star Project Podcast
Sep 11, 2020
Summit for Space Sustainability Keynote Quoted by SpaceNews
Sep 11, 2020
Summit for Space Sustainability Spectrum Panel Quoted by Breaking Defense
Sep 14, 2020
Summit for Space Sustainability Space Force Panel Quoted in Space.Com
Sep 16, 2020
Brian Weeden Quoted by IEEE Spectrum on Chinese Company''s Plans for Space Resource Extraction
Sep 22, 2020
NASA Administrator''s Comments at Summit for Space Sustainability Cited by Breaking Defense
Sep 22, 2020
Victoria Samson Interviewed by BBC Radio 4 on Space Diplomacy
Sep 22, 2020
Victoria Samson Interviewed by Science Magazine on NASA/Space Force Partnership
Sep 24, 2020
Christopher Johnson Interviewed by Financial Express on Lunar Resources Secure World Foundation
Sep 26, 2020
Victoria Samson Quoted by the BBC on Diplomatic Efforts by the UK
Sep 29, 2020
Brian Weeden Quoted by BreakingDefense on Microsoft''s New Space Cloud Services
Sep 30, 2020
Chris Johnson Discussed Legal Aspects of Space Commerce on Ex Terra Podcast
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