Recorded in Washington, DC, on June 11, 2018. Over the last decade, there has been growing interest and investment in commercial space activities. Companies are developing new and innovative space applications and services that could deliver significant societal, economic, and national security benefits on Earth. However, some of these ventures face obstacles from outdated, overly restrictive, or non-existent licensing and government oversight processes. At the same time, the growing...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on November 2, 2017. This luncheon panel discussion examined the technical, legal, and policy prospects for active debris removal (ADR), and the steps Congress can take to help incentivize the development of ADR technologies and capabilities.  Space debris continues to pose a significant threat to future space activities. Although progress has been made over the last decade on implementing voluntary guidelines to minimize the creation of new debris, some 22,000...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2017. SWF held a luncheon panel discussion on Capitol Hill that brought together private sector experts to discuss the current space debris situation, what steps are being done (or not done) to address it, whether the blanket 25-year rule is still sufficient, and what role industry can play in helping ensuring the long-term sustainability of space while fostering continued innovation and growth of the space sector. In 2012, Secure World Foundation...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2017. SWF co-sponsored, with the National Space Weather Partnership, the 2017 the Space Weather Enterprise Forum. This year’s theme was "Implementing a National Space Weather Partnership.” The forum brought together a blended audience of space weather experts from both research and operations, space weather users from the public and private sectors, academia, international representatives, and policy makers. One of the event objectives was continuing...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2017. SWF co-sponsored, with the National Space Weather Partnership, the 2017 the Space Weather Enterprise Forum. This year’s theme was "Implementing a National Space Weather Partnership.” The forum brought together a blended audience of space weather experts from both research and operations, space weather users from the public and private sectors, academia, international representatives, and policy makers. One of the event objectives was continuing...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2017. SWF co-sponsored, with the National Space Weather Partnership, the 2017 the Space Weather Enterprise Forum. This year’s theme was "Implementing a National Space Weather Partnership.” The forum brought together a blended audience of space weather experts from both research and operations, space weather users from the public and private sectors, academia, international representatives, and policy makers. One of the event objectives was continuing...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2017. SWF co-sponsored, with the National Space Weather Partnership, the 2017 the Space Weather Enterprise Forum. This year’s theme was "Implementing a National Space Weather Partnership.” The forum brought together a blended audience of space weather experts from both research and operations, space weather users from the public and private sectors, academia, international representatives, and policy makers. One of the event objectives was continuing...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2017. SWF co-sponsored, with the National Space Weather Partnership, the 2017 the Space Weather Enterprise Forum. This year’s theme was "Implementing a National Space Weather Partnership.” The forum brought together a blended audience of space weather experts from both research and operations, space weather users from the public and private sectors, academia, international representatives, and policy makers. One of the event objectives was continuing...

Recorded in Washington DC, on May 18, 2017. The Embassy of Italy, the U.S. Department of State, and Secure World Foundation held a discussion on space weather as a global challenge with a focus on research, operations and preparedness. This event updated the international community on progress made toward implementing the U.S. National Space Weather Strategy and advances in Italy, Europe, and beyond.   Featuring space-weather experts from across the world, the morning's three panels focused...

Recorded in Colorado Springs, CO, on April 6, 2017. There are an increasing number of governmental and private sector actors in space, which could lead to existing new applications and benefits on Earth but also increased space sustainability challenges. To discuss these issues, SWF held an luncheon panel discussion at the 33rd Space Symposium. The panel featured a variety of perspectives to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing new actors, and the issues and potential positive...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on January 27, 2017. On January 27, 1967, the Outer Space Treaty was opened for signature in Moscow, London, and Washington DC. On the fiftieth anniversary of this occasion, a luncheon symposium was held at Georgetown University to reflect on the development of the Outer Space Treaty, the fundamental role the US government played in its development, as well as rationales behind the treaty and fundamentals of public international law underpinning the document and...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on January 17, 2017. On January 11, 2007, China destroyed one of its aging weather satellites using a ground-based anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon. The 2007 ASAT test, and a similar test by the United States a year later, reignited international and domestic debates over strategic stability and deterrence, space weaponization, and the potential for a space arms race. Ten years later, many of the same tensions and questions remain.    This luncheon panel discussion...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on October 21, 2016. On June 17, 2016, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) agreed to twelve long-term sustainability (LTS) guidelines, representing “best practices” for the safe and responsible use of space. These twelve voluntary guidelines mark a successful milestone out of years of discussions within COPUOS and represent the Committee’s role in fostering international cooperation in ensuring that everyone can continue to...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on October 21, 2016. On June 17, 2016, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) agreed to twelve long-term sustainability (LTS) guidelines, representing “best practices” for the safe and responsible use of space. These twelve voluntary guidelines mark a successful milestone out of years of discussions within COPUOS and represent the Committee’s role in fostering international cooperation in ensuring that everyone can continue to...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on October 21, 2016. On June 17, 2016, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) agreed to twelve long-term sustainability (LTS) guidelines, representing “best practices” for the safe and responsible use of space. These twelve voluntary guidelines mark a successful milestone out of years of discussions within COPUOS and represent the Committee’s role in fostering international cooperation in ensuring that everyone can continue to...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on October 21, 2016. On June 17, 2016, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) agreed to twelve long-term sustainability (LTS) guidelines, representing “best practices” for the safe and responsible use of space. These twelve voluntary guidelines mark a successful milestone out of years of discussions within COPUOS and represent the Committee’s role in fostering international cooperation in ensuring that everyone can continue to...

Recorded in Washington, DC, on May 31, 2016   In 2011, the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published a National Security Space Strategy (NSSS) that provided guidance to the U.S. national security space community on how to address the challenges of what they deemed an increasingly "contested, congested, and competitive" space environment. The 2011 NSSS proposed the following set of interrelated strategic approaches for meeting U.S. national...

Space activities are becoming more globalized. Today, more than sixty countries operate one or more satellite in space, and virtually all countries depend on space for some combination of national security, social, and economic benefits. There are an increasing number of space actors as a result.  Furthermore, countries with existing space programs are also expanding their space activities into new sectors. At the same time, the world is seeing a boom in private sector activity in space,...

As the domestic and international community discusses and implements policy and legislation focused on space resource rights, this panel will focus on identifying legal, policy, and business implications of that activity. The discussion will focus on practical considerations related to the development of space resources-related regulatory frameworks and their relationship to both commercial development and international commitments. On May 5, 2016, SWF and the Alliance for Space Development...

Space security is an increasingly important issue, and one that has taken on new meaning in recent years with increased concerns about protecting space capabilities from both intentional and environmental threats.  On April 14, 2016, the Secure World Foundation hosted an invite-only luncheon panel discussion at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as part of the 32nd Annual Space Symposium, to discuss the current state of space security using the lens of existing norms of...

Our continued ability to get benefits from space assets will be interrupted if spectrum is not responsibly protected.  This issue is coming up more and more often, particularly so at meetings last November in Geneva for the World Radiocommunication Conference and as policymakers look at the future of GPS and other positioning, navigation, and timing systems.  As the U.S. government takes on the mantle of looking at how its space assets can overall be more resilient, spectrum protection is a...

Recent multi-stakeholder discussions have highlighted the limited awareness on spectrum-related issues and their impacts within the broader Earth observations community, and the challenge of capturing the extent of reliance on potentially impacted programs and systems. Sponsored by the Secure World Foundation, this morning panel event seeks to raise awareness of the risks facing the frequency bands used for meteorological purposes within the international GEO community, discuss opportunities...

Recorded September 22, 2015 Like many other sectors of space activities that were once "government only," the notion of privately owned and operated space stations is no longer science fiction. Within the next decade, it is likely we will have a scenario where there are multiple commercial and government space stations on orbit, with a mix of multiple government and private customers and a mix of government and commercial transportation services going back and forth. Such a scenario holds...

This event was recorded on March 27, 2015. On Friday, March 27, 2015, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the Secure World Foundation (SWF) hosted a luncheon panel discussion from 12:00pm to 2:00pm EST on  “Challenges In Sharing Weather Satellite Spectrum With Terrestrial Networks” in Washington, DC. In order to meet the growing demand for wireless broadband connectivity, the U.S. government is developing strategies to share radio frequency spectrum between federal and commercial...

Recorded March 23, 2015 Although some may consider the two to be at odds with each other, international law has a direct impact on military activities in both peacetime and during conflict. International law defines what constitutes an armed attack, the right to national self-defense, and the limits on use of force during an armed conflict consistent with the Geneva Conventions. Over the last several decades, legal scholars and military practitioners have clarified the rules of...