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SWF November 2020 Newsletter
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Upcoming Events

Nov 10, 2020
Seeing Space Security: The role of SSA for verification of future space arms control

Dec 1-3, 2020
2020 CODER Orbital Debris Workshop

Upcoming Engagements

Nov 5, 2020
Victoria Samson will present on the issue of trust and emerging technologies for a UNIDIR event

Nov 13, 2020
Victoria Samson will moderate a panel on space safety at the Paris Peace Forum

Nov 17, 2020
Krystal Azelton will speak at the GEOINT Community Forum on professional experiences resulting in community resilience

Nov 17, 2020
Krystal Azelton will speak on two panels on sustainability at ASCEND

Nov 20, 2020
Brian Weeden will moderate a panel on space weather and space situational awareness at the Space Weather Enterprise Forum

Nov 27, 2020
Peter Martinez will deliver a recorded presentation at the regional meeting of the International Academy of Astronautics in Beijing.

Dec 3, 2020
Victoria Samson will  moderate a panel on SSA and debris mitigation at the SpaceTechExpo Europe 

Dec 10, 2020
Victoria Samson will participate in the University of Washington's student-run Space Dialogue

Secure World Foundation Newsletter

November 2020

Insight - Increasing Understanding of China's Commercial Space Activities

By Director of Private Sector Programs Ian Christensen

As two of the most comprehensive global space programs, the space-related relationship between the United States and China plays a critical role. In the context of an overall strained and competitive relationship, future developments in these countries’ space activities will have significant effects on the overall stability of the space domain. The utilization of space is increasingly recognized as a key focus area for both national security and economic development in both the U.S. and China. Both countries are seeking to position their space programs as drivers of economic growth, diplomatic influence and leverage, and security advantages. As they do so the potential for misunderstanding and misrepresentation increases; and political and legal measures on both sides of the bilateral pose barriers for beneficial information exchange.

Read more here.

Announcements

Oct 26, 2020
SWF Signs Memorandum of Understanding with the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in order to further their mutual efforts on space security. SWF has partnered with UNIDIR for over a decade on the annual Space Security Conference, held in Geneva, as well as other work. By signing this MoU, SWF and UNIDIR agree to continue their relationship and to explore other avenues for the development of norms for responsible behavior in space. The agreement was signed by SWF Director Peter Martinez and outgoing UNIDIR Director Renata Dwan. 

Events

Oct 21, 2020
Exploring Insights from Emerging Space Agencies  
Secure World Foundation hosted a panel of graduates from the George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute to share findings from their report entitled “Exploring Insights from Emerging Space Agencies.” This project was completed as part of the George Washington University’s Global Capstone program, with the support of SWF, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Aerospace Security Project, the NASA Office of International and Interagency Relations (NASA OIIR), and the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). The full report and the Executive Summary are available here.       

Oct 28-29, 2020
SWF Participates in 2020 Global Satellite Servicing Forum
SWF, through its role as part of the Secretariat for the Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS), helped to organize the Third Annual Global Satellite Servicing Forum (GSSF), an online forum which discussed current technical, business, and policy trends and developments that are driving the emergence of a commercial on-orbit satellite servicing industry. Through a series of presentations, panels, and discussion sessions the GSSF highlighted the activities of CONFERS members across the globe in advancing the development of satellite servicing capabilities. The 2020 GSSF agenda can be found here.

October 30, 2020
Moon Dialogs Research Salon: Spaceport & Landing Pad Designs
Panelists Jeffrey Montes, Phil Metzger and Ryan Watkins drew upon their expertise to provide ideas around landing pads as critical lunar infrastructure for the most recent Moon Dialog. Moderated by Open Lunar’s Chelsea Robinson, this session featured a talk by Jeffrey Montes on his recent landing pad designs and self-selected breakout groups around key topics, with  special emphasis on the implications for coordination and shared agreements with landing protocols and assets.

Staff Activities and Presentations 

Oct 1, 2020
SWF Participates in Expert Discussion on the State of the U.S. Space Force
SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden participated in an expert panel discussion on "The State of the Space Force" organized by DefenseOne on October 1, 2020. The panel was part of a series of virtual events organized by DefenseOne to examine current issues across various parts of the U.S. Department of Defense.

Oct 2, 2020
SWF Discusses Future of Counterspace Threats at UN-L Space Law Week
Dr. Weeden gave a video discussion on "Counterspace threats: Today and Tomorrow: as part of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln's (UN-L) Virtual Space Law Week held September 28 through October 2, 2020. Dr. Weeden gave a 20-minute talk outlining current counterspace capabilities being developed by multiple countries around the world and how those capabilities might evolve in the near future. Following his remarks, Dr. Weeden had a short discussion with Professor Jack Beard from UN-L Space Law program.

Oct 6, 2020
SWF Joins Roundtable on Geopolitical Space Competition and Cooperation
Dr. Weeden participated in a virtual event hosted by the Wilson Center and sponsored by the Aerospace Corporation on "Seeking Strategic Advantage: How Geopolitical Competition and Cooperation are Playing Out in Space." A keynote from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was followed by a panel discussion on the role of norms of behavior in space in dealing with militarization and weaponization. The panel also included Jessica West from Project Ploughshares, Jamie Morin from the Aerospace Corporation, and was moderated by Christian Davenport from the Washington Post. 

Oct 6, 2020
SWF Participates in Track 2 Dialogue with Russia
SWF Washington Office Director Victoria Samson presented on norms of responsible space behavior at a virtual track 2 dialogue between the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Sciences on space security issues. In it, she called for discussions of positive norms like shared monitoring of activities on orbit and something similar to an Incidents at Sea agreement but for space; she ended her remarks with a warning about the inadvertent acceptance of emerging negative norms. 

Oct 12-14, 2020
SWF Staff Attend IAC: Cyberspace Edition 
SWF staff participated in the 71st International Astronautical Congress, which was conducted virtually. Executive Director Peter Martinez delivered two presentations: the first on the implementation of the LTS guidelines, and second on the application of scenario methods to the future of space governance. Operations and Communications Associate Nicole Nir co-presented "Space for Urban Planning: Team Project conclusions from the Space Studies Program (2019).” Dr. Weeden, in his role as Executive Director of CONFERS, moderated a highlight lecture on the first commercial satellite servicing mission, MEV-1.  Dr. Martinez also served on the IAC nomination committee for 2020 and attended the IAF general assembly. Director of Space Applications Krystal Azelton attended the meetings of the Earth Observation Committee and the GEOSS Sub-Committee; Victoria Samson, Space Law Advisor Christopher Johnson and Dr. Weeden all attended the Space Security Committee meeting. 

Oct 13, 2020
SWF Staff Speaks on the Emerging Space Economy
SWF Washington Office Director Victoria Samson spoke at a virtual event hosted by the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress and George Mason University’s National Security Institute, on “Building the Space Economy for Commerce & Security.” She focused on norms of behavior and the role of the commercial sector in establishing best practices for responsible space actors.  The video of the panel can be found here.  

Oct 13-16, 2020
SWF Participates in UNOOSA Capacity-Building Mission
SWF Space Law Advisor Chris Johnson delivered a lecture on governmental regulation of private space activities to the Chilean government as part of UNOOSA’s Space Law for New Space Actors project. 

Oct 16, 2020
SWF Participates in Space Education Conference 
SWF Executive Director Dr. Peter Martinez delivered a presentation on the role of the United Nations in space diplomacy at the Space Education and Strategic Applications Conference, organized by the Policy Studies Organization on October 15-16th. 

Oct 20, 2020
SWF Briefs Brazilian Air Force on Cybersecurity 
Victoria Samson spoke on cybersecurity as a counterspace capability and U.S. responses at the virtual event, “Cyber Security in Outer Space: The Next Frontier for Safe Space Activities,” held by the Brazilian Universidade da Força Aérea (UNIFA). 

Oct 22, 2020 
SWF Debuts on Space Store Live! 
Krystal Azelton was a guest on the Space Store Live! program on October 22, 2020. Space Store is a UK-based experiential store dedicated to bringing space to everyone, everywhere, every day. Ms. Azelton gave a 25-minute talk outlining Secure World Foundation’s mission to ensure space sustainability, exploring the importance and impact of sustainability in space and explaining why we, here on Earth, derive so much benefit from sustainable practices in the satellite and space industry. Following her remarks, Ms. Azelton had a short discussion with Host Lakshya Sethi Jack Beard where they discussed audience questions. The full recording is available here

Oct 22, 2020
SWF Participates in UNGA Side Event
Victoria Samson spoke on "Counterspace Risks and Threats" at a UN General Assembly virtual side event, “Operating in Space: Current Multilateral Policy Issues and Challenges,” hosted by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office on Oct 22, 2020. 

Oct 27, 2020
SWF Participates in Meeting of the NOAA ACCRES Advisory Committee
Brian Weeden participated in the fall 2020 meeting of NOAA’s Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) to discuss the Committee’s work, including the findings of working groups on the implementation of  the new U.S. regulations for Earth Remote Sensing and what future commercial space activities may be coming down the road. Minutes of the meeting will be posted here.

Experts in the Media

Oct 3, 2020
Victoria Samson Appears on Decoding Cyberspace Podcast

Oct 7, 2020
Chris Johnson and Victoria Samson Quoted in Breaking Defense on TRANSCOM-SpaceX Partnership

Oct 8, 2020
Ian Christensen Quoted in the Houston Chronicle on NASA Space Exploration Program

Oct 9, 2020
Brian Weeden Quoted by BreakingDefense on the Impact of SpaceX Winning Satellite Contract from SDA

Oct 12, 2020
Ian Christensen Quoted in the Houston Chronicle on NASA Funding 

Oct 13, 2020 
Krystal Azelton Quoted in Axios Space Newsletter on Demand for Earth Observation Data

Oct 17, 2020
Victoria Samson Discusses Space Militarization on Hey, Lesson! Podcast

October 30, 2020 
Chris Johnson Discusses Space Law on ABC Radio National’s Future Tense

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