On March 2nd, the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center and American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security held the space policy workshop, “Working Smarter with America’s Spacefaring Allies.”
The workshop focused on the following questions:
How can we work smarter militarily in space with our spacefaring allies?
What is the case for and against promoting space zones and bodyguards for proximity operations?
How can we work smarter commercially in space with our spacefaring allies?
In addition, General John Raymond, Commander of the US Space Force and Thomas DiNanno, Senior Bureau Official and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Policy, Emerging Threats, and Outreach Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance served as keynote speaker.
The following is the workshop report:
May 11, 2020
march-2020-space-report (PDF) 544.28 KB
Working Smarter with America’s Spacefaring Allies
Workshop Report
Introduction:
The workshop began with introductions of participants and affiliations. A host from the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center welcomed the group, explaining that this workshop is the fourth gathering with the goal of furthering meaningful discussion on public space policy. That goal is as crucial as ever, he contended. From the perspective of the United States and our partners, we sorely lack enough public space policy and, more importantly, public ventilation about the problems that drive changes to our policy. Unfortunately, sixty and seventy-year-old policies are beginning to become institutional. But there is also good news, he noted. The existing public discussion on space policy centers around good goals: that we must be more transparent and less classified; that we must streamline acquisition; that we must work closely with our allies; and that we must develop new rules of the road for space operations. Unless we can offer more than platitudes, though, the voices responsible for shaping concrete policy face a daunting challenge. Consequently, these workshops aim to fill that void and promote public policy through frank, candid discussion on policy ideas. These fundamentals led to the inclusion of a wide array of stakeholders as participants – the notion being that perhaps when U.S. government actors look outward for creative ideas, they can spur reform. Hosts from the ABA and NPEC agreed that, in short, we hear the refrain that space is the new frontier for military and commercial activity. If that is true, we must begin to do things differently than we did generations ago. Things are beginning to move more quickly in space, and we all feel a sense of urgency to resolve these developing issues. Workshops like these facilitate challenging assumptions, testing hypotheses, and creating ideas for mutual benefit.
To read the entire report, click here.