SWF Joins Global Space Safety Coalition

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Broomfield, CO 

Secure World Foundation has joined the Space Safety Coalition (SSC), a first-of-its-kind global ad hoc coalition dedicated to developing and maintaining a set of “living” space safety best practices.  The new coalition comprises space operators, space industry associations and space industry stakeholders that want to lead by example, actively promoting responsible space safety through the voluntary adoption of relevant international standards, guidelines, and practices, and the development of more effective space safety guidelines and best practices.

On June 25-26, 2019, Secure World Foundation held the inaugural Summit for Space Sustainability in Washington, DC. A key finding from the Summit was the need to develop and implement norms of behavior and best practices for responsible space operations across commercial, civil, and national security space activities.  Entities that endorse the Coalition effort agree to promote and strive to implement the SSC’s set of aspirational best practices for the long-term sustainability of space operations. 

SWF has had a long-standing interest in supporting cooperative approaches to responsible behavior in outer space activities. In an increasingly commercial space domain, industry commitment to best practice is a key tool.  “The Space Safety Coalition represents an important step in industry commitment to ensuring the sustainability of the space domain - in alignment with the 21 Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities recently adopted by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space,” said Peter Martinez, Executive Director of the Secure World Foundation. 

The SSC and its coalition members will publish, coordinate, and periodically update these best practices to keep them well-aligned with responsible space operations and the evolving understandings of the orbital debris environment, to address gaps in space governance, and promote better spacecraft design, operations, and disposal practices associated with the long-term sustainability of space operations. 

For more information, contact SWF Director of Private Sector Programs Mr. Ian Christensen.

About Secure World Foundation

The Secure World Foundation is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to the secure, sustainable and peaceful uses of outer space contributing to global stability and benefits on Earth. The mission of the Secure World Foundation is to work with governments, industry, international organizations, and civil society to develop and promote ideas and actions to achieve the secure, sustainable, and peaceful uses of outer space benefiting Earth and all its peoples.

About the Space Safety Coalition 

Formed in 2019, the Space Safety Coalition publishes a set of orbit regime-agnostic best practices for the long-term sustainability of space operations. These best practices are generally applicable to all spacecraft regardless of physical size, orbital regime or constellation size, and directly address many aspects of the twenty-one consensus Long-Term Sustainability (LTS) guidelines approved by the United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) in June 2019. Interested parties can visit spacesafety.org for additional information about the SSC, its mission, and guidelines.