SWF Leads Discussions on Commercial SSA and Space Traffic Management at 2017 AMOS Conference

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

SWF staff continued the tradition of contributing to the annual Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference. This year's conference was held in Maui, Hawaii, Sept. 19-23, 2017. SWF actively participated in the Policy Forum held at the beginning of each day of the conference, which consisted of a keynote speaker followed by a panel discussion on a policy topic related to space situational awareness (SSA).

The first day of the 2017 AMOS Conference featured a keynote speech by Mr. Doug Loverro, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Space Policy in the Obama Administration, who advocated for stronger US engagement in international and multilateral discussions on space governance. Echoing his recent article on the subject, Mr. Loverro called for the US to develop "principled principles" on debris-causing anti-satellite weapons, the law of armed conflict in space, space traffic management (STM), and property and salvage rights in space. Following Loverro's talk, SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden moderated SSA Policy Forum 1 on the evolution of the commercial SSA sector. The panel started with a short video clip demonstrating some of the commercial SSA capabilities being developed:

The panel featured Mr. Stewart Bain, CEO, Northstar; Mr. Paul Welsh, VP of Business Development, Analytical Graphics Inc.; Dr. Doug Hendrix, CEO, ExoAnalytic Solutions; Mr. Tom Kubancik, VP of Advanced Programs, Applied Defense Solutions; Dr. Edward Lu, VP for Strategic Projects, Leolabs; and Dr. Helen Reed, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Chandah Space Technologies. The panel discussed how the commercial space sector has evolved over the last several years, its future prospects, and the policy challenges that still need to be addressed. 

The second day of the Conference opened with a keynote speech by Colonel Shinichiro Tsui from the National Space Policy Secretariat of the Government of Japan. Colonel Shinichiro discussed recent updates to Japan's national space law and policy, including a stronger focus on developing national SSA capabilities. Following the keynote, Mr. Andrew D'Uva, President of Providence Access Co., moderated a panel discussion on challenges and opportunities from large satellite constellations. Panelists included Dr. Tim Flohrer, Space Debris Analyst and Co-Lead Space Surveillance and Tracking, European Space Agency; Mr. Cyrus Foster, Orbit Mechanic, Planet Labs; Mr. Gary Henry, Director of Space Defense & Intelligence, Boeing; and Ms. Diana McKissock, SSA Sharing Cell Lead, 18th Space Control Squadron. 

During the afternoon of the second day, SWF partnered with the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) and the IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) to hold the fifth annual AMOS Dialogue in Maui, a small, invitation-only workshop to foster dialogue on SSA policy issues. This year's AMOS Dialogue discussed possible future scenarios for SSA that featured varying degrees of private sector, government, national, and international control, and the policy and end user implications of each. SWF will be publishing a short summary of the Dialogue discussions in the near future.

The third day of the Conference opened with a keynote speech by Dr. Stuart Eves, Lead Mission Concepts Engineer for Surrey Satellite Technology Limited. Dr. Eves gave a wide-ranging talk on the challenges posed by the space environment and future human activities in space that create the need for space traffic control. Following Dr. Eve's talk, SWF Washington Office Director Ms. Victoria Samson moderated SSA Policy Forum 3 on international perspectives on space traffic management. The panel included LTC Pawel Chodosiewicz, Acting Director of Defense Projects Department, Polish Space Agency; 
Mr. Stephen Earle, Space Traffic Program Manager, Federal Aviation Administration; WGCDR Steven Henry, Australian Exchange Officer, Principal Department of Defense Space Advisor Staff; 
Dr. Bhavya Lal, Research Staff Member, Science and Technology Policy Institute, Institute for Defense Analyses; and Dr. Uwe Wirt, Director of Operations, German Aerospace Center (DLR) / German Space Situational Awareness Center (GSSAC). 

Recordings of the panels are available here.