Activities

Below is a list of activities and events in which Secure World Foundation participated. For a list of presentations and publications grouped by SWF staff, please visit our Staff Presentations, Publications, and Interviews page.

2010

July 1 - On July 1st the Obama administration released the new National Space Policy. The document dramatically revises longstanding U.S. policy by expanding its emphasis on international cooperation and cooperative initiatives; it also expresses a strong willingness to consider arms control measures for space activities. SWF and the Arms Control Association (ACA) hosted a panel discussion on July 1, 2010, that examined how this NSP matches up with previous ones and what it means for future efforts to ensure the sustainable use of space. Panelists were Marcia Smith, founder and editor of SpacePolicyOnline.com and President of Space and Technology Policy Group, LLC; Ben Baseley-Walker, Legal and Policy Advisor, SWF; and Bruce MacDonald, Senior Director, Nonproliferation and Arms Control Project, the United States Institute of Peace. For a transcript of the event, please visithere.

April 16 - Victoria Samson, Washington Office Director of the Secure World Foundation, was recently a guest speaker on Democracy Now where she spoke about Obama's New Space Exploration plan, and other important issues, including space congestion and safety. Democracy Now is a daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 800 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the U.S. Listen to the show now:   

April 7- Secure World Foundation, in partnership with WILPF, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, met to discuss two different attempts to achieve space security. Victoria Samson, Washington Office Director from the Secure World Foundation, was one of the key speakers. Learn more now.

February 23 - Secure World Foundation hosts a panel discussion in Washington, DC entitled “Enhancing Space Security: Expert Recommendations." Presenters included Dr. Ray Williamson (SWF Executive Director), Laurence Nardon (Senior Research Fellow, Institut Francais des Relations Internationales) and Bruce MacDonald (Deputy Director, Nonproliferation and Arms Control Project at the U.S. Institute of Peace). Read a summary of the event here. 

February 4-5 - Secure World Foundation, 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. to discuss development of an integrated national space policy. The 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.

January 18-20 - International Analysis and Warning to Support Decision Making (Mexico City, Mexico). Secure World Foundation worked with the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) and CRECTEALC partners on a workshop dedicated to NEO impact scenarios and responses.

January 21 - Space Security Index 2009: The Status and Future Trends in Space Security (Washington, DC). Event held to discuss future issues related to space security, co-sponsored by Secure World Foundation, Space Security Index, and the Embassy of Canada. A summary of the event can be found here.

2009

January 8 - Reaching Out: A New Approach to Security in Space (Washington, DC) – Beginning with an event at the Canadian Embassy, a series of briefings in the DC area were held to promote the 2008 Space Security Index. Partners include Project Ploughshares, the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University, the Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-proliferation Research at the University of British Columbia, and the Space Generation Foundation.

February - Agnieszka Lukaszczyk (in her role as Executive Officer of the Space Generation Advisory Council) speaks on the subject of space and the United Nations during the seventh installment of SWF's Space Security Lunch Series. Her talk is entitled "Space Policy on the United Nations Level - History, Achievements, and the Way Forward." 

February 9-20 - UN COPUOS Scientific & Technical Subcommittee (Vienna, Austria). During this week, the first collision of two complete satellites occurred in low Earth orbit. In wake of Iridium-Cosmos satellite collision, SWF presentation on need for international civil space situational awareness made international news. See our blog entries here and here.

Weeden, Brian. "International Civil Space Situational Awareness."

February 18 - 13^th Annual ISU Symposium (Strasbourg, France). Dr. Ray Williamson presents on subect of space and education.

Smith, Phil and S. Metlay. "Space: A Reintroduction." 

March 12 - Canadian Roundtable on Space (Ottawa, Canada). Continuing development of Canada’s role in international space security, the Rideau Institute brings together key stakeholders and leaders in Canadian space policy. In 2009, participation increased and included Canadian Space Agency for first time. See our blog entry here. 

March 23-24 - Improving Our Vision III (Washington, DC). Expanded conversation to include more players and to present a primer on the topic and issues for the Obama Administration. Conference was a success, very well attended by US military, civil and commercial space interests. See our blog entry here. 

March 31 - 25^th Annual National Space Symposium (Colorado Springs, Colorado). SWF Communications Director Phil Smith participates in panel moderated by Rachel Yates (Holland & Hart). FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation George Nield also participated. See our blog entry here. 

April - Dr. Marshal Kaplan on Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory talks about removal of orbital debris during the eighth installment of SWF's Space Security Lunch Series. Dr. Kaplan's talk is entitled "Space Debris: A Growth Industry." 

April 13-14 - Space Deterrence Workshop (Washington, DC). SWF’s first cooperative venture with US military was a successful workshop in partnership with Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and Air Force Air War College (AWC).

Weeden, Brian. "Space Architecture Choices and Physical Dependencies."

April - Planetary Defense conferences (Lincoln, Nebraska and Granada, Spain). Strong SWF involvement in back-to-back meetings considering legal issues as well as technical challenges regarding potentially hazardous near Earth objects (NEOs). Presentations made at and sponsorship of University of Nebraska College of Law Conference on NEO Law and Policy and 1^st IAA Planetary Defense Conference: Protecting Earth from Asteroids. See our blog entries here and here. 

Baseley-Walker, Ben. "Different Institutional Models for NEO Response," April 23.

April 28 - NOAA Space Weather Week (Boulder, Colorado). Presentation to international audience of civil and military researchers in space weather about international civil space situational awareness in session on satellite operations. 

Metlay, Suzanne. "Space Weather and International Space Situational Awareness." 

May - Michael Krepon of the Henry L. Stimson Center discusses work being done on a space code of conduct during the ninth installment of SWF's Space Security Lunch Series.  

May 7-9 - Space Debris Congress (Montreal, Canada). Presentation on international civil space situational awareness as a complementary initiative to space debris mitigation guidelines. See our blog entry here.

May 18-22 - National Security Forum (Maxwell AFB, Alabama). SWF participation directly solicited by Air Force Secretary Michael Donley. See our blog entry here. 

May 18 - SWF Legal and Policy Advisor Ben Baseley-Walker delivers talk on North Korea at Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, DC.

Baseley-Walker. "Some Technical and Legal Issues on the DPRK Launch." 

May 28 - Conference on Disarmament NGO Panel (Geneva, Switzerland). SWF selected as one of four non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to speak at Conference on Disarmament. This event marked the first time an NGO panel was invited to speak at an informal plenary session of the CD. See our blog entry here.

Baseley-Walker, Ben. "Space Security: An Overview." 

June - UN COPUOS Plenary (Vienna, Austria). SWF organized first working lunch for Permanent Observers to COPUOS. 

June 15-16 - UNIDIR conference, Moving Towards a Safer Space Environment (Geneva, Switzerland). SWF partnered with UNIDIR on conference. See our blog entry here.

June 18-19 - Ifri Conference (Paris, France). SWF partnered with Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri) to hold international workshop on draft EU Code of Conduct, space situational awareness, and possible ban of kinetic anti-satellite weapons. SWF helped write report titled “Assessing the Current Dynamics of Space Security”. See our blog entry here. 

June - NORAD Workshop (Washington, DC). SWF sponsored research examining US-Canadian trans-border cooperation in air defense and space situational awareness to identify lessons learned and develop models for multinational cooperation. See our blog entry here.

June - DC Office Launch (Washington, DC). Official opening of the new SWF D.C. office with selected Hill staff, agency personnel, and local members of the Advisory Committee attending. See our blog entry here. 

July 29  - ISU Space Security Theme Day (NASA Ames, California) – Series of presentations by various experts to Summer Studies Program students at International Space University. See our blog entry here.

Weeden, Brian. "The Physics of Space Weapons." 

August 27 -Satellite Lasing Press Lunch (Washington, DC) – SWF partners with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to present informative events in the DC area. At the first major event in this series, AAAS hosted a short press lunch in August on the topic of satellite laser blinding, 11 selected members of the media attended, representing news organizations such as DODbuzz.com, Reuters, and Christian Science Monitor. See our blog entry here. 

September - International Symposium on Digital Earth, Earth Observations and Human Security: Opportunities and Challenges (Beijing, China). Presentation on community remote sensing (CRS) as a way of improving the ability of communities to contribute to their own welfare. In 2010, SWF will work with several leaders in the remote sensing field to develop CRS in the context of improved disaster management and emergency response, especially in non-space-faring countries where community access to relevant satellite is limited. 

September - International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (St. Petersburg, Russia). SWF invited by U.S. State Department to attend. For SWF to work effectively with this productive group in 2010, SWF should have a clear and relevant product/project to contribute. SSA, signal interference, and space debris are security elements to GNSS activities. 

September 29 - Nixon Center Panel on Missile Defense in Asia (Washington, DC). SWF invited to discuss space issues relevant to missile defense in Asia with Project Ploughshares and Heritage Foundation. Event had small invitation-only audience: a mix of industry, arms control NGOs, US military, staffers, and embassy representatives. Possible SWF follow-up may be a space security workshop with the Nixon Center on China and Asian issues. Please see Nixon Center press release for more information.

October 6-20 - World Space Week and Mainstream Media Project (worldwide). As part of SWF’s participation in World Space Week, SWF arranged with Mainstream Media Project for radio talk show hosts across the United Statesto conduct 39 interviews on the topic of orbital debris. For the full list of those interviewed as well as SWF recommendations regarding debris mitigation, please visit this page. 

Smith, Phil. "Orbital Debris and Space Governance." 

October 12-16 - International Astronautical Congress, Space for Sustainable Peace and Progress (Daejeon, South Korea). SWF held two major sub-elements: (1) IAF Space Security Committee, and (2) Plenary session focused specifically on the topic of long term sustainability of space – first plenary session to concern space security. Both SWF events were well attended. During IAC, the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) held the world finals of the Space Law Moot Court Competition which sees law students arguing a case before 3 sitting judges from the International Court of Justice. SWF provided travel for the North American finalist team who proceeded to win 2nd place and Best Brief. Prior to IAC was 3-day Space Generation Congress with 90 attendees from over 30 countries between ages 18-35. Peace session was sponsored by SWF. There were four SWF staff presentations:

Williamson, R. "Earth Observations and Human and Environmental Security: Opportunities and Challenges."

Williamson, R., K. Suzuki, N. Peter, B. Baseley-Walker, and A. Lukaszczyk. "Report on the Status of Progress Towards the Long-Term Sustainability of Space Activities."  

Weeden, Brian. "Analysis of the Technical Feasibility of Building an International Civil Space Situational Awareness System." Paper can be read here.

Baseley-Walker, Ben. "Use of Force, Self Defense and Space." 

October - UN General Assembly First & Fourth Committees (New York, New York). SWF partnered with UNIDIR to present a “Space Security and Disarmament” lunch panel for the First Committee, which deals with issues of peace and disarmament, and receives input from Conference on Disarmament (CD). Panelists included SWF, UNIDIR and Stanford. SWF also partnered with WILPF for a “Space and the Private Sector” lunch panel for the Fourth Committee, which handles decolonization and space, and receives input from COPUOS. Panelists included SWF, WILPF and Providence Access. SWF activity in 2010 may include facilitating interaction between operators’ data sharing initiative and international diplomats.

October 21 - Latest Developments on Space Security and Disarmament. This event, co-sponsored by Secure World Foundation and the United Nations Institute of Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) was held during the UN First Committee to discuss space instruments and issues relating to space security, examine current approaches to space exploration, consider the new generation of legal regimes for space, and ensure peaceful uses of space for all. The following presentations were made:

Theresa Hitchens (UNIDIR), The value of TCBMs in ensuring space security

Pavel Podvig (Center for International Security and Cooperation), A technical perspective on proposed space instruments

Ben Baseley-Walker (Secure World Foundation), The use of force, self defence and space 

November 3-5 - CRECTEALC, Space Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Looking to the Future (Mexico City, Mexico). Representatives from several countries discussed their national space activities and policies, as well as concerns regarding how to build a greater space capacity, with larger goal of establishing a harmonized Latin American space policy. Presentations:

"Hacia una Política Espacial de la ONU," CRECTEALC.

Barberis, J. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ecuador), "Politica Espacial Ecuatoriana."

Becerra, R. (Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities, Venezuela), "Space Activities of Venezuela – Noteworthy Accomplishments and Government Actions." NOTE: LARGE FILE.

von der Dunk, Hans (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), "The International Law of Outer Space and Consequences at the National Level."

Guzmán, Camilo (Universidad Sergio Arboleda), "Políticas públicas espaciales, el caso Colombiano."

Hodgkins, Ken (Office of Science and Technology Policy), "National Space Legislation and the Outer Space Treaties."

Jimenez Monroy, Cynthia (Leiden University), "Towards the institutionalization of space cooperation in LA: political and legal aspects for its implementation." 

Logsdon, John (The George Washington University), "Space Security: The Basis for Responsible Use of Space."

Palacio, L. (Institute of Geophysics and Astronomy, Cuba), "Actividades y Politica Espaciales en Cuba." NOTE: LARGE FILE.

Suzuki, Kazuto (Hokkaido University), "Regional Cooperation in Asia/Pacific Region."

Williamson, Ray (SWF Executive Director), "Space Policy Essentials: The Need for Consistent Elements and Clear Goals." 

Vázquez, Fermín Romero (Ministry of External Relations, Mexico), "Actividades y política espacial de México." NOTE: LARGE FILE.

November 19 - Dr. Ray Williamson, Executive Director of Secure World Foundation, delivered testimony to House Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. Other participants included Marty Hauser, J.P. Stevens, Dr. Scott Pace, and Dr. Kai-Uwe Schrogl. 

November - Space Salon (Washington, DC). SWF partnered with SPI for a dinner discussion to bring together representatives of national security, foreign policy, and civil space interests to discuss the future of U.S. space policy.

December 8-10 - DARPA Conference on Active Debris Removal (Chantilly, Virginia). SWF Technical Advisor Brian Weeden presents on orbital debris removal.

Weeden, Brian. "Active Debris Removal: An Opportunity for Leadership and Cooperation." 

2008

May - George Whitesides, Executive Director of the National Space Society, gives presentation on the future of human spaceflight at inaugural Space Security Lunch Series sponsored by Secure World Foundation.

May 16 -  SpaceOps 2008 Conference (Heidelberg, Germany). SWF TEchnical Advisor presents on the subject of Sun-synchronous zoning as a function of space situational awareness.

Weeden, Brian. "Development of a Sun-Synchronous Zoning Architecture to Minimize Conunctions."

June - Rusty Schweickart of the Association of Space Explorers presents on subject of NEOs during the second installment of SWF's Space Security Lunch Series. Rusty's talk is entitled "The NEO Challenge: To Be or Not to Be."

July - Rachel Yates of Holland & Hart presents on U.S. law as it relates to space tourism during the third installment of SWF's Space Security Lunch Series. Her talk is entitled "Space Tourism: Have Fun at Your Own Risk."

July 13-20 - 37^th Annual COSPAR Conference (Montreal, Canada). Dr. Ray Williamson and SWF consultant Agnieszka Lukaszczyk presented a paper at the COSPAR conference in Montreal entitled: "The Role of Space-related Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Capacity Building." See our blog entry here.

July 25-August 1 - 20^th International Summer Symposium on Science and World Affairs (Boston, Massachusetts). SWF Technical Advisor Brian Weeden presents on the subject of Sun-synchronous zoning for purposes of space situational awareness.

Weeden, Brian. "Development of a Sun-Synchronous Zoning Architecture to Minimize Conjunctions."

August 19-20 - Cornell Workshop on Space Security (Ithaca, New York). SWF Technical Advisor presents on space situational awareness.

Weeden, Brian. "Space Surveillance and Situational Awareness."  

August - Bill Gail of Microsoft discusses Virtual Earth during the fourth installment of SWF's Space Security Lunch Series. His talk is entitled "Virtual Worlds."

September 16-19 - Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Conference (Maui, Hawaii). SWF Technical Advisor presents on the subject of space sustainability.

Weeden, Brian. "Space Security and Space Sustainability."

October - Dr. Andy Aldrin of United Launch Alliance talks about the International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR) during the fifth installment of SWF's Space Security Lunch Series. His talk is entitled "International Cooperation and ITAR: Paths Forward." 

September 29-October 3 - 59^th Annual IAC, 2009 (Glasgow, Scotland). SWF consultant Agnieszka Lukaszczyk presented "The Role of Space-related NGOs in Capacity Building," a paper co-written with SWF executive director Dr. Ray Williamson. The paper was presented during the session on "Space Policies and Programmes of International Organizations."

October 20 - United Nations, Prospects for a Cooperative Security Regime in Outer Space (New York, New York). Dr. Ray Williamson; Victor Vasiliev, Deputy Permanent Representative to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN Geneva Office; and Nicolas Gerard of UNIDIR took part in a panel addressing members of the United Nations General Assembly chaired by Ambassador Robert Grey of the Bipartisan Security Group. The panel discussed transparency and confidence-building measures (TCBMs), the draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects (PPWT), and other key space security issues. Joint program between SWF, UN Institute for Disarmament Research and Global Security Institute. 

Williamson, Ray. "Approaches to Achieving a Secure and Sustainable Space Environment." 

October 21-23 - Third Annual International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety Conference (Rome, Italy). SWF Technical Advisor delivers speech.

October 27 - UN First Committee (New York, New York). SWF Legal and Policy Advisor Ben Baseley-Walker delivers statement on space.

November - Dr. T.S. Kelso of CSSI presents on the subject of space situational awareness during the sixth installment of SWF's Space Security Lunch Series. His talk is entitled "Improved Conjunction Analysis via Collaborative Space Situational Awareness." 

November 20-21 - IAA/ESPI/SWF Workshop, The Fair and Responsible Use of Space: an International Perspective (Vienna, Austria). SWF Legal and Policy Advisor Ben Baseley-Walker presents on subject of the "Paris Group."

Baseley-Walker, Ben. "The 'Paris Group' and the Way Forward."  

November 28-December 5 - UN/ESA/Kenya Workshop on Climate Change (Nairobi, Kenya). SWF consultant Agnieszka Lukaszczyk presented on "Building Appropriate Institutions to Support the Use of Earth Observations for Human Security." Co-authored with Dr. Ray Williamson. 

December 8-9 - Space Security and Defense Conference (Las Vegas, Nevada). SWF Technical Advisor Brian Weeden presents on subject of denial deterrence.

Weeden, Brian. "Protecting Space Assets Through Denial Deterrence."

2007

June 1-6 - Fifth Annual Digital Earth Conference (Berkley, California). Dr. Ray Williamson attended this meeting as one of his first duties in order to gain perspective on the possible work SWF could do in this arena. 

July 25-August 24 - ISU Space Studies Program (Strasbourg, France). Dr. Ray Williamson took part in the ISU SSP as a faculty member and made a presentation on space weapons and space security with Will Marshall at ISU. About 70 students and faculty attended this one-hour event. SWF Consultant Will Marshall led STM study. The results were presented to the entire student body and to invited guests in the final day of the ISU Space Studies Program.

September 23-28 - Annual International Astronautical Congress (Hyderabad, India). Dr. Ray Williamson attended the IAC and took part in a Plenary Session at which he was invited to speak: "New Space Actors in the Global Market Place," where among other things he noted that the addition of new actors adds to debris, crowding, etc., so there is an increasing need for space traffic management and other cooperative efforts to protect the space environment. 

October 8-9 - Committee on NGOs, The Benefits of Space and Space Security (Vienna, Austria). Dr. Ray Williamsons attended and presented SWF agenda. He managed to include a statement on space security in the final resolution of the conference, in which the delegates agreed to meet again at the COPUOS S&T Subcommittee meetings in February to discuss the question of whether or not to set up a CONGO space committee.

October 25-26 - Improving Our Vision II: Building Transparency and Cooperation (London, England). This conference, held in partnership with the Center for Defense Information and the U.S. Air Force Academy Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense, brought together participants from the US. State Department, U.S, Air Force, the offices of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, NASA, NOAA, and equivalent participants from Europe (France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, the E.U.) and from the satellite industry, as well as NGOs such as SWF, and the European Space Policy Institute. Dr. Ray Williamson attended and welcomed the participants on behalf of SWF.  

Weeden, Brian. "The Elements of Space Traffic Management." 

November 7 - E-Parliament Hearing on the potential for conflict and cooperation in space (Brussels, Belgium). Dr. Ray Williamson attended this hearing and gave a short summary of the benefits of space systems and the dangers that we face from failing to establish some operating norms in space. Other participants included Dr. Everett Dolman of the U.S. Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Prof. Götz Neuneck, of Hamburg University, and Josef Aschbacher of ESA. 

November 8-9 - Lecture support of International Space University (Strasbourg, France): Following an E-Parliament meeting Dr. Ray Williamson moved to Strasbourg to lecture MSS students on space weapons and space security. Dr. Williamson also gave a lecture on the entry of many of the small countries into space and the motivations that drive them to do so.