SPOT 2 satellite to be de-orbited next month

Spot Image and Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES, the French civil space agency) have decided to de-orbit SPOT 2 after 19 years of operation. Beginning on July 1, Spot Image will stop sending programming to the satellite related to passage files, card files and related services. During the month of July, CNES will prepare the satellite for deactivation and de-orbiting. Photo courtesy Spot Image.

The de-orbiting procedure will follow guidelines developed by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), which were endorsed by the United Nations. These guidelines include the controlled de-orbiting of satellites that reach their end of life (EOL). Satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) are actually not de-orbited at EOL, but rather placed in a parking orbit, sometimes referred to as a graveyard orbit.

Policies related to the mitigation of orbital debris is a major component of work for Secure World Foundation and its partners.

Space Security Issues Tackled by International Experts

Significant steps forward are being made on a range of international security issues that impact civil, military and commercial users of space.

Secure World Foundation (SWF) proudly co-sponsored in June two major gatherings of global authorities, brought together to discuss a variety of key issues for the global utilization of space, from steps toward space traffic control, crafting a Code of Conduct for spacefaring nations to helping curb the development of space debris-producing anti-satellite weaponry.

SWF was a co-sponsor of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR’s) Space Security 2009: Moving Toward a Safer Space Environment, held June 15-16 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

“SWF was pleased to participate actively in this important conference and to assist in clarifying the crucial decisions the world faces in tackling the complex issues of limiting weapons in space,” explained Dr. Ray Williamson, SWF’s Executive Director.

“Compared to 2008, I encountered an entirely new and hopeful sense of optimism among the delegates of the Conference on Disarmament now that they have finally agreed on a program of work,” Williamson said.

"The UNIDIR conference was a significant contribution to thinking on space security," added SWF’s Legal and Policy Advisor, Ben Baseley-Walker. The event provided a forum that discussed space security issues in a new light, he added, deliberations that are relevant to the work of the Geneva disarmament community with emphasis on cross cutting issues that affect all space players: civil, military and commercial.

For further information on UNIDIR, go here.

Global Space Affairs
A second international workshop was titled Assessing the Current Dynamics of Space Security. SWF co-sponsored this workshop with the French Institute of International Relations - Institut Français des Relations Internationales or Ifri, held June 18-19 in Paris, France.

Ifri is France’s leading independent international relations center dedicated to policy-oriented research and analysis of global political affairs. Image courtesy of Marcel Dickow.

Experts met at the Paris workshop to assess current trends in international discussions on space security, including active discussion of the European Union’s Code of Conduct on Outer Space Activities, as well as discussion of implementing space traffic control measures and the kinetic anti-satellite test ban.

The gathering included representatives from France, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Russia, Germany, Colombia, India, the UK, as well as the United States, with sessions moderated by the Head of the Space Policy Program at Ifri, Laurence Nardon, SWF’s Ray Williamson and SWF’s Space Policy Consultant Agnieszka Lukaszczyk.

“The workshop was quite a success, not only due to its participants, but especially due to a dynamic and open minded discussion,” explained Lukaszczyk. “Space security issues tend to be sensitive and during regular conferences participants often have no liberty to openly share their thoughts. However, during this particular meeting, true brainstorming occurred which should produce a high quality report,” she added.

For details on Ifri and this event, please go here.

SWF hosts workshop on NORAD lessons for international space data sharing

Today, Secure World Foundation, in cooperation with The George Washington University's Space Policy Institute, hosted a workshop that looked at lessons from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) applicable to international space data sharing. Attending the workshop were Victoria Samson, SWF Washington Office Director and Brian Weeden, SWF Technical Advisor.

The meeting discussed a draft academic report sponsored by SWF that examines the motivation for and formation and operation of NORAD as one example of an international space data sharing entity through historical document and a series of interviews with current and former NORAD personnel. From this research, the report focuses on lessons from the NORAD experience that are applicable to future space data sharing initiatives, such as international space situational awareness.

Feedback from the participants will be incorporated into the report when it is published, as well as into further areas for follow-on research, with the goal of helping inform the space community on possible solutions and methods for future international cooperation on SSA.

New Fact Sheet Details Asteroid Threat to Earth

Secure World Foundation (SWF) has released a new fact sheet: Protecting Earth from Near Earth Objects.

Since the discovery of the Chicxulub crater and its likely association with a mass extinction event - some 65 million years ago - scientists have uncovered increasing evidence that celestial objects have a history of impacting the Earth and affecting its inhabitants.

Over the past decade a growing amount of research has begun to identify the types of objects that pose threats to Earth and potential mitigation strategies.

As a free service, SWF calls your attention to this new fact sheet that details:

- What are NEOs?
- Dealing with the threat
- Policy and legal issues

International policy challenges

SWF provides fact sheets covering issues related to space governance. These fact sheets are both technical in nature as well as policy-related, said Phil Smith, SWF Communications Director.

As detailed in the new SWF fact sheet, a particular type of NEO called a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) is the object of particular focus when it comes to a possible impact with the Earth.

“We have produced two fact sheets designed to help people understand what NEOs are, how they are categorized, and also highlight the international policy challenges associated with detecting, tracking and ultimately deflecting a hazardous-to-Earth NEO,” said Smith.

Secure World Foundation: Active Role in United Nations Deliberations on Peaceful Uses of Space

The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) has ended its deliberations during its 52nd session which was held from June 3 to June 12 in Vienna, Austria.

This UN Committee is the primary international venue for debate and action on space governance.

As a Non-Governmental Organization, Secure World Foundation (SWF) has attained active Permanent Observer status within the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Secure World Foundation’s Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) standing permits the organization to further its objectives dedicated to maintaining the secure and sustainable use of space for the benefit of Earth and all its peoples.

“The COPUOS meeting helped Secure World Foundation to firm up its agenda for 2010 relating to Near Earth Objects, human security and space security. All of these items are high on the agenda of COPUOS,” said Dr. Ray Williamson, SWF’s Executive Director.

Near Earth Objects – or NEOs – are asteroids or comets that have the potential to threaten Earth. Collisions with NEOs have occurred in the past and we should remain alert to the possibility of future close Earth approaches.

“SWF can especially contribute to the work of the COPUOS Action Team-14, which is concerned with crafting an appropriate institutional response to a potentially hazardous Near Earth Object,” Williamson said.

Climate and Space-based Observations
Williamson underscored the work carried out by the COPUOS participants during the nine-day gathering of world leaders.

In particular, the Committee agreed that due to the global nature of climate change, space-based observations, complemented with ground-based observations, were well-suited to monitor the different signs of climate change and factors which are contributing to those manifestations. Space-based observations could be also used in support of mitigation and adaptation measures linked to climate change.

During the meeting, the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs signed cooperation agreements to establish the Regional Support Offices of the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) with Iran, Nigeria, Romania, and the Asian Disaster Reduction Centre. The Regional Support Offices will serve as centers of expertise in the use of space technology in disaster management.

The Committee also took action on a Safety Framework for Nuclear Power Sources Applications in Outer Space.

Highlights of the 52nd session of the Committee included an address by Susan Helms, former U.S. astronaut and now Brigadier-General of the United States Strategic Command. In Helms’ statement to the Committee she noted how international cooperation between space-faring nations could lead to improved space situational awareness and shared insights on last February’s collision between a commercial Iridium spacecraft and a Russian Cosmos satellite.

Permanent Observer Status
“Thanks to our Permanent Observer Status with the UN COPUOS we can actively participate in discussions, meetings, and works of the Committee and its subcommittees,” explained consultant Agnieszka Lukaszczyk in SWF’s Vienna operations.

Lukaszczyk noted that SWF made a statement during the General Exchange of Views during COPUOS. Also, as a member of Action Team 14 on Near Earth Objects, SWF actively contributed to discussions on this issue. Additionally, SWF organized the first ever working lunch for UN COPUOS Permanent Observers, to discuss roles and duties within the Committee.

SWF Advisory Committee Member: New Book Released

SWF Advisory Committee member, Joan Johnson-Freese, Professor and Chair of the Department of National Security Studies at the Naval War College, has a new book just out: Heavenly Ambitions America's Quest to Dominate Space.

In Heavenly Ambitions, Johnson-Freese draws from a myriad of sources to argue that the United States is on the wrong path: first, by politicizing the question of space threats and, second, by continuing to believe that military domination in space is the only way to protect U.S. interests in space.

In her new University of Pennsylvania Press book, Johnson-Freese lays out her vision of the future of space as a frontier where nations cooperate, and military activity is circumscribed by arms control treaties that would allow no one nation to dominate - just as no one nation’s military dominates the world’s oceans. This is in the world’s interest and, most important, in the U.S. national interest, she concludes.

For more information on her new book, go to:

http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/14608.html

-- Leonard David

Secure World Foundation attending 52nd session of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

Dr. Ray Williamson, Executive Director of Secure World Foundation is attending the 52nd session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). On June 5, he presented a statement during a general exchange of views. Ben Baseley-Walker, SWF Legal and Policy Advisor, and Agnieszka Lukaszczyk, SWF Space Policy Consultant, are also in attendance.

The COPUOS session, held in Vienna, Austria, began on June 2. On June 3, following a general exchange of views, a panel discussion was held to discuss the the tenth anniversary of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III).

Special presentations on education and Asian space cooperation were made on June 4. Rusty Schweickart, founder of the B612 Foundation and lead researcher on near Earth object (NEO) mitigation for the Association of Space Explorers, also made a presentation on that day. A panel discussion on the tenth anniversary of UNISPACE III followed later in the day.

Secure World Foundation Expands Operations

The Secure World Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of an office in Vienna, Austria to expand its global interaction and involvement in the shaping of international space governance issues.

Establishing a Secure World Foundation (SWF) office outside of the United States exemplifies the growth of the organization and its involvement in international space activities, explained consultant Agnieszka Lukaszczyk, head of SWF’s Vienna operations. “This was an important step for SWF, as Europe and the United Nations have critical roles to play in all of the issues with which we deal,” added Dr. Ray Williamson, SWF’s Executive Director.

“Having most of the United Nations space-related entities here in Vienna, such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the establishment of a SWF presence in Vienna will allow us to focus not only on European space policy but also on various international endeavors related to space,” Lukaszczyk noted.

Emphasizing the importance of the new office in Vienna, Lukaszczyk noted SWF’s Permanent Observer Status with the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

“We can actively participate in discussions, meetings, and works of the committee and its subcommittees. During the upcoming session of the UN COPUOS, the Secure World Foundation will make a statement during the General Exchange of Views,” Lukaszczyk said. “We will also attend and actively contribute to the work of the Action Team 14 on Near Earth Objects, in which SWF has membership status. Most of all, we are organizing the first ever working lunch for all the UN COPUOS Permanent Observers to discuss our roles and duties in the committee,” she added.