The United States relies upon space for a variety of essential daily services. Valuable space assets underpin our national security, help us forecast weather and predict natural disasters, enable GPS and satellite TV, spur our economy and industrial base, and keep U.S. troops and allies safe and secure around the world. Unfortunately, the current space environment threatens our ability to continue relying on these assets and all of the benefits they afford us.
PAST EVENTS
Threats to U.S. Space Investments (2013)
20 February 2013
The Secure World Foundation (SWF), the Space Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will hold a panel discussion about Threats to U.S. Space Investments on February 20, 2013 in room 2325 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Lunch will be served at 11:30 am ET and the panel discussion will take place from 12:00-1:00 pm ET. Further details are on the SWF website. An RSVP is REQUIRED via that website.
On Wednesday, February 20th, 2013, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Space Foundation, and Secure World Foundation (SWF) will team up to host a luncheon and panel discussion on Capitol Hill addressing the importance of sustainability in outer space. The United States relies upon space for a variety of essential daily services. Valuable space assets underpin our national security, help us forecast weather and predict natural disasters, enable GPS and satellite TV, spur our economy and industrial base, and keep U.S. troops and allies safe and secure around the world. Unfortunately, the current space environment threatens our ability to continue relying on these assets and all of the benefits they afford us. Speakers will discuss this situation from national security, legal, political, and commercial perspectives. This event is open to the public, but will take place strictly under Chatham House Rules. RSVP is required.
Speakers:
- Brendan Curry (Moderator), Space Foundation
- Patricia Cooper, Satellite Industry Association (SIA)
- Henry Hertzfeld, George Washington University, Space Policy Institute
- David Turner, U.S. Department of State, Office of Space and Advanced Technology
- Anthony Mastalir (Invited), U.S. Joint Staff, Strategic Plans & Policy, Space & Missile Defense Division
EVENT HAS PASSED
Strengthening International Security through Global Science and Technology Cooperation in Space (2013)
7-8 February 2013
Space is often viewed in the U.S. through a narrow security lens-surveillance, communications and weaponization. Space, however, provides much more. Space is a natural laboratory for fundamental science and technology advancement, creating opportunities for cooperation and trust building with benefits to American national and international security. The June 28, 2012 U.S. National Space Policy placed emphasis on U.S. leadership in mutually beneficial international space cooperation, but implementation to date has been modest. Ms. Samson will be examining the mechanisms by which space can be utilized as a “soft power” instrument for the United States, international initiatives that promote space cooperation and current roadblocks that deter deeper collaboration in space.
EVENT HAS PASSED
Stronger International Cooperation Needed To Address Growing Threat of “Space Junk” (2012)
7 December 2013
Sputnik 1 first streaked across the virgin heavens a half-century ago ushering in the Space Age. Since then the number of manmade objects circling the globe has swelled into the hundreds of thousands. Space-based systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS), telecommunications, and weather forecasting have become so woven into daily life that they are taken for granted.But those systems increasingly are threatened by the discarded and broken pieces of these space programs, which can cause them physical harm, speakers said at a 7 December forum organized by the AAAS Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy.