Newswise — A specially-convened workshop of experts has initiated a dialogue on how to begin developing a strategy for United States activities in outer space.
Since the dawn of the Space Age, the United States has maintained a fairly consistent national space policy, one that has outlined the goals of the American presence in and use of space. However, while this policy has been updated consistently by many Presidential Administrations over the decades, there has never been a clearly defined strategy of how the United States would achieve these goals and coordinate the efforts of all the various entities in the United States which play a role in space.
The Secure World Foundation (SWF), in partnership with the George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute, the U.S. Air Force’s National Space Studies Center, and Astroconsulting International held a workshop in Washington, D.C. on February 4-5 to discuss developing such a strategy.
The just-concluded workshop brought together over 50 experts from the U.S. military, NASA, government, and academia to discusses different aspects of what would comprise a U.S. National Space Strategy. The goal of the project is to produce a series of academic papers that lay the intellectual foundations for a National Space Strategy.
Timely workshop
“There have been multiple ‘blue ribbon panels’ that have recommended a national space strategy,” said Brian Weeden, SWF’s Technical Advisor, “but up until now there has not been a concerted effort to move beyond recommendations and actually tackle developing such a strategy.”
Victoria Samson, SWF Washington Office Director, added: “Given that the U.S. government is still working through the Obama Administration’s national space policy and trying to complete the Space Posture Review, this workshop was very timely.”
The two-day workshop addressed an array of topics, including:
-- Theoretical approaches to developing strategy; -- Political challenges of formulation and implementation of strategy;-- Crosscutting issues in civil, commercial and security space; -- Space launch capabilities, as well as space program development and spacepower; -- Economics and space commerce; -- Earth observations; -- Protection of space assets and space deterrence; and-- Space governance and international cooperation. Each topic featured one to two authors, multiple reviewers, and a group discussion. There was also a section focused on international space strategies, with international speakers examining the space policies and strategies of Russia, China, Europe, Japan, India and Israel.
Areas of common concern
A consistent theme that emerged from the workshop was that creating a single overarching strategy for United States space activities is very difficult and is not plausible given the current dynamics of the political environment.
“Instead, the initial focus should be on finding a few key areas of common concern that overlap all of the different space sectors and actors,” said Eligar Sadeh, President of Astroconsulting International and the principal investigator.
Those common areas, Sadeh said, include launch capability and assured access to space; developing and maintaining a scientific, technical and industrial base; space governance for the long term sustainability and freedom of use of Earth orbit; and the use of space for national, international, human and environmental security on Earth.
The results and output from the gathering of space policy experts will be detailed in a workshop summary as well as a series of academic and professional papers that will be published this fall in a special issue of the peer reviewed journal Astropolitics - The International Journal of Space Politics and Policy at: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/14777622.asp
Reporter’s Note:
For further information on the workshop, please contact:
Brian Weeden, Technical AdvisorSecure World FoundationEmail: [email protected]Phone: +1 (202) 683-8534 US Phone: +1 (514) 466-2756 Canada
Victoria Samson, DirectorWashington D.C. Office Secure World FoundationEmail: [email protected]Phone: + 1 (202) 462-1841
Secure World Foundation (SWF) is headquartered in Superior, Colorado, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Vienna, Austria. SWF is a private operating foundation dedicated to the secure and sustainable use of space for the benefit of Earth and all its peoples.
SWF engages with academics, policy makers, scientists and advocates in the space and international affairs communities to support steps that strengthen global space security. It promotes the development of cooperative and effective use of space for the protection of Earth’s environment and human security.
The Foundation acts as a research body, convener and facilitator to advocate for key space security and other space related topics and to examine their influence on governance and international development.
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