Part of the Geopolitics and Global Futures Symposium 2022.

Understand the implications of outer space activity for international security

As humanity becomes increasingly dependent on space-based technologies, the need to maintain space as a peaceful environment for international cooperation and technological and scientific progress is ever more paramount. This task is further complicated by the proliferation of actors operating in space, and the potential placement or use of offensive weapons in outer space.
This course provides an overview of the key contemporary issues in outer-space governance from both a legal and policy-oriented perspective.

Learning outcomes

Discussions on how humanity can use space responsibly are rapidly gaining significance. Whether tackling practical issues, such as mitigating space debris and orbital congestion, or assessing new technologies and new actors, such debates have wide-ranging consequences for governance and space politics.

With a focus on these issues and more, this course addresses the latest debates and conflicts at the heart of the burgeoning and increasingly significant field of outer space security.

Speakers

• Ambassador Thomas Greminger, GCSP Director

GCSP Director’s Opening Remarks

• Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan, Head of the Geopolitics and Global Futures Programme, GCSP

Introduction and Overview: Outer Space Security

• Dr Xavier Pasco, Director, Foundation for Strategic Research, FRS, Paris, France

Keynote address: The Future of Space Security

• Ms Almudena Azcárate Ortega, Associate Researcher, Weapons of Mass Destruction and Other Strategic Weapons, UNIDIR, Geneva, Switzerland

The Future of Space Security Regulation

• Dr.-Ing. Carsten Wiedemann, Senior Scientist, Institute of Space Systems, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany

Space Debris

• Mr Thomas G. Roberts, Adjunct Fellow (Non-resident), Aerospace Security Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, USA

Threats Against Space Systems

• Dr Michael K. Simpson, Director Emeritus of Secure World Foundation, Professor of Space Policy and Law at International Space University, Senior Fellow of IISC, USA

Space Power and Policy

• Ms Kaitlyn Johnson, Deputy Director and Fellow, Aerospace Security Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies, USA

The Role of Space Forces in Space Security

• Ambassador Hellmut Lagos Koller, Chair of the UN Open Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats

The UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) & Space Threats

This course is designed for officials from governments and international organisations, as well as members of the security and defence policy planning and the intelligence communities. This course is also relevant to representatives from the private sector and nongovernmental organisations, journalists, and anyone with a professional interest in understanding future international security challenges.

Apply one month before the course start date to qualify for a 15% discount. Special discount for GCSP Alumni. Connect to MyGCSP for details.