Plenary 3: The Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space: Advancing the Space Economy and Sustaining Space Industry Through Solutions to Space Security Issue

Tuesday 22 October 2019, 08:30 – 09:30
Location: The Walter E. Washington Convention Center – Grand Ballroom AB

With the proliferation of space-related technology, knowledge, and expertise surging to meet the explosive global growth in supply and demand for goods and services, the cumulative value of space-related or space-dependent commerce and economic value also generates the need to address the critical issues related to space security. The democratization of space has led to a growing number of active spacecrafts and inactive objects in orbit. With the advent of mega constellations, this number is likely to double within the next decade increasing the probability of collisions and complicating space traffic management. This plenary addresses the fact that humanity has become increasingly dependent on space capabilities and space-enabled services, thereby making commerce, the human condition, and “normal daily life” vulnerable to any significant disruption in the functioning of space assets. As such, space must be managed thoughtfully and protectively. Communications, Broadcast, Earth Observation, Navigation, Positioning, Timing, Weather Forecasting are all essentials of modern life and modern commerce, and of course are all now dependent on value that is being created by assets located in space.
The panel is composed by a group of leading experts who have dedicated their careers in industry and also government to advancing space technology for the protection and security of humankind. Given the extreme breadth and scope of this domain, including both the inputs and the outcomes affected by it, the panel will address the full spectrum of legal, policy, economic, and technical aspects of space security from a global perspective. International panellists representing both private and public space sector will discuss a spectrum of views on effective cooperation in space and the long-term sustainability of the space environment.