July 23, 2012

Secure World Foundation Announces International Dialog on Satellite Servicing and Debris Removal

On June 26, 2012, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) held a conference on "Fostering Sustainable Satellite Servicing" in Washington, D.C. that served as an excellent beginning for this conversation. To continue the discussion, Secure World Foundation (SWF) will be holding two follow-on international conferences to bring in the perspectives and viewpoints from all stakeholders on issues of on-orbit servicing and active debris removal, extending the conversation to an international audience.

In partnership with the Institut francais des relations internationales (Ifri), SWF will hold a conference in Brussels, Belgium on October 30, 2012 to bring these discussions to the European community. SWF is also partnering with the Singapore Space and Technology Association (SSTA) to hold another conference in Singapore on February 20, 2013 to extend the dialog to the Asia-Pacific region.

Details on the events, including venues and registration, will be posted to the events section of the SWF website in the coming weeks.

July 29 - August 2, 2012

Agnieszka Lukaszczyk Participates in the UN SPIDER Technical Advisory Mission to Cape Verde

From July 29, 2012 to August 2, 2012 UN-SPIDER conducted a Technical Advisory Mission to Cape Verde supported by the Government of Austria. Upon the invitation of Servico Nacional de Proteccao Civil (SNPC) a diverse and outstanding mission team of 12 experts including Brussels Office Director, Agnieszka Lukaszyczyk, from the disaster management and space technology community, academia as well as crowdsourcing experts visited Cape Verde. The mission included meetings with key disaster management authorities in the Government, UN agencies, regional and international organizations/initiatives and private entrepreneurs to discuss the topic in depth and make recommendation and develop guidelines to improve the use of space-based information in disaster management and emergency response.

August 3, 2012

SWF Announces Young Professional Scholarship Winners for IAC 2012 in Naples

Secure World Foundation selected five young professionals to receive scholarships for travel funding to the 2012 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Naples, Italy. As the premiere international space conference, the IAC offers a unique opportunity for young professionals to further their professional development and inject new ideas into the community. More than 80 abstracts from young professionals around the world were submitted to the competition. The winners are Kate Becker (United States),  Minoo Rathnasabapathy (South Africa), Ustav Mukherjee (India), Ana Cristina van Oijhuizen Galhego Rosa (Brazil), and Philipp Maier (Germany). 

August 3 - 5, 2012

Dr. Michael Simpson Leads Panel Discussion on "Space Law & Its Impact on Space Exploration"

Dr. Michael Simpson led a panel on "Space Law & Its Impact on Space Exploration" at the Annual Mars Society convention held in Pasadena, CA from August 3, 2012 through August 5, 2012. Panel participants included Matthew Schaefer, JD (Director of the Space, Cyber and Telecommunications Law LL.M. program at the University of Nebraska School of Law), Art Dula, JD (Excalibur-Almaz), and Declan O'Donnell, JD (Space Development Authority).

July 13, 2012

Space Junk 3D Panel Discussion Held

On July 13, 2012, The Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Secure World Foundation, with support from Ball Aerospace, hosted the premiere of the new IMAX film Space Junk 3D. Don Kessler joined a panel of experts in a post-showing discussion on how space debris is tracked and how space-faring nations can be engaged to implement solutions.

August 21, 2012

SWF Co-Hosts Congressional Briefing on "Defense and Industry on Space Cooperation"

On August 21, 2012, SWF and Space Foundation co-hosted a Congressional briefing on "Defense and Industry on Space Cooperation." The luncheon panel discussion drew a large turnout of Congressional staffers and others from the DC space policy community to hear leading defense and industry speakers discuss current international space sustainability initiatives, such as the proposed International code of Conduct. An audio recording of the event can be found here.

July 12, 2012

SWF and EIAS Publish a Report from "The Ups and Downs of Euro-China Space Cooperation" Space Policy Round Table

The Secure World Foundation and the European Institute for Asian Studes have partnered to organize an event titled "The Ups and Downs of Euro-China Space Cooperation," as part of the SWF's Brussels Space Policy Round Table series of short panel discussions focused on significant global space events with a particular emphasis on Europe. The schedule of these events is driven by the important occurrences in the space sector. This event focused on an overview of Europe-China cooperation in space, highlighting some success stories, discussing challenges, the current situation and the way forward. SWF Technical Advisor Brian Weeden presented thoughts on Euro-China space cooperation and Brussles Office Director Agnieszka Lukaszczyk moderated the panel.

July 16, 2012

Report Released from SWF Co-Sponsored 5th UN Workshop on Disaster Management and Space Technology in Bonn, Germany

The final report from the 5th International UN-SPIDER Bonn workshop on Disaster Management and Space Technology, entitled "Strengthening Global Synergies Through Knowledge Management, Portals, and Networks" is now available. The workshop focused on strengthening global synergies through knowledge management, portals and networks bringing together more than fifty experts from Asia, Australia, Africa and Latin America. It provided the forum for UN-SPIDER to gather elements to update its knowledge management strategy, particularly regarding the UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal. The workshop was co-organized by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and supported by Secure World Foundation, the City of Bonn and the German Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi). Project Manager, Natassa Antoniou represented SWF.

July 17, 2012

Release of the 2012 Space Security Index Executive Summary

SWF partnered with the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC to hold its annual launch event for the release of the Executive Summary of the Space Security Index (SSI). The event featured four experts discussing various aspects of space security followed by a question and answer period. 

An audio recording of the event can be found here and the Executive Summary can be downloaded here. 

June 26, 2012

Agnieszka Lukaszczyk Disscuses Space Sustainability Initiatives at the Toulouse Space Show

SWF Brussles Office Director Agnieszka Lukaszczyk gave a presentation on current international initiatives on space sustainability at the Policy and Law Symposium of the Toulouse Space Show. 

July 3 - 5, 2012

SWF Founder and Executive Director Speak with the ISU Space Studies Program

Secure World Foundation's Founder, Cynda Collins Arsenault, and Executive Director, Michael Simpson, gave two presentations at the International Space University's 25th Space Studies Program at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. Their talks with current students focused on Space Sustainability as a critical issue in the space sector, while they used the Space Security Index as a backdrop for their Space Security conversations with alumni.

July 6, 2012

Brian Weeden Gives a Talk at TEDxISU on Open Source SSA

On July 6, 2012, SWF Technical Advisor Brian Weeden participted in a TEDx event organized by the International Space University (ISU) as part of the Alumni Weekend activities at the ISU Space Studies Program in Melbourne, Florida. TEDx events are independently organized versions of the popular TED talks that promote "ideas worth spreading."

The theme for TEDxISU was "Open Source Space," and Brian's talk focused on SWF's work on open source space situational awareness to improve safety and sustainability of space activities. Brian highlighted SWF's work in launching a database of SSA sensors around the globe and promoting the benefits of an open source, collaborative approach to developing SSA software tools.

A YouTube video of Brian's talk can be found here.