The Space Policy Show

How can satellites be attacked? How and why do we place satellites in certain places? What does that have to do with defending them? What can satellites actually do… and not do?  Join Aerospace experts Kristen Kolarik (Combat Power and Battle Management) and Britany Washburn (Mission Analysis & Operations) as they break down some of the basic questions of operating and defending satellites in...

Is cybersecurity the Achilles heel of all our space services? What are national and international strategic approaches that could be taken? Is there room for a “good enough for now” minimum standard, or a government agency to manage risk in the cyber domain? This episode highlights this and more with Aerospace experts Samuel Visner (Aerospace Technical Fellow and Vice Chair, Space ISAC) and Dr Kim...

From the Eisenhower administration, through the Cold War, and into the modern era space has been a domain of competition and cooperation.  How have strategies employed by the US changed and stayed the same over the decades? In what ways has the warfighter been integrated into that evolution? Join Dr Mick Gleason and Robin Dickey from Aerospace’s Center for Policy & Strategy for their historica...

How does the US Space Force face the reality of space as a warfighting domain versus space as a key enabler? What is the role of service-level joint forces, our collective of international allies, and commercial space actors? Does Command and Control (C2) take on different meaning? Join Aerospace Corporation’s Jean Michael (General Manager, Space Systems Operations) as she talks to Space Force’s L...

There is little argument as to the importance of keeping space usable – both government and industry leaders continue to weigh in at the 5th annual Summit for Space Sustainability.  Proponents of sustainability for space have traditionally looked at the environment as crowded, with great attention given to space traffic coordination, debris mitigation and norms of operations.  How is the definitio...

How does the Department of Commerce help US leadership in the space sector? What does government do to leverage commercial R&D and capabilities? How do protective measures against China not impede US industry? Join Jamie Morin, Executive Director CSPS and Alan Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security as they break down the complexities involved in protecting the US space...

How does the US Department of State shape national security space through diplomacy?  Why did the U.S. make a commitment to not conduct destructive, direct-ascent missile tests and how is that commitment in U.S. national interests? Do norms of responsible behavior for space matter if Russia and China can ignore them? How do developments in commercial space compliment or complicate diplomatic effor...

What’s the difference between California’s Western Range in Santa Barbara County and Florida’s Eastern Range at Canaveral? The number of launches and interest in “space mobility” is growing, commercial companies are keen – how do terrain, infrastructure, stewardship, customer-base, and the search for talent play into it? Will the Western Range one day be part of a network of spaceports with respon...

How is commercial space contributing to development of a cislunar ecosystem? What infrastructure is needed to make cislunar sustainable? What is the workforce needed? After capabilities are developed and deployed, how will we implement? Join Aerospace Corporation’s Ron Birk (also President, American Astronautical Society) as he talks to Dr. Kathleen Howell (Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics a...

The pace of launch is accelerating, and at Florida’s Eastern Range 80-90% of launches are commercial.  How does the US Space Force move from a “Range of the Future” model to a “Spaceport of the Future” model? What architecture is needed; how can policy better support? From automation enabled by robotics and AI, to the rising importance of space mobility and data, assuring access to space is moving...

How do science fiction shows compare to real life diplomacy and politics? Join two serious space policy experts as they dive into the military-civil balance, the role of non-state actors, the use of off-the-record negotiations and personal credibility in some of your favorite science fiction shows.  Join Robin Dickey (Center for Space Policy & Strategy) as she talks to Gabriel Swiney , Sr Advi...

As humans probe ever deeper into space, there is potential to discover where we came from, what we are made of, and how to effect change right back here on Earth.  What technological advances are being made in deep space programs? Why is deep space exploration important to humanity, if at all?  In today’s episode, we discuss this and more with Aerospace Corporation’s Colleen Stover (CSPS), David E...

The integration of commercial space activities into government systems is not new, but its growing.  From civil to defense to the intelligence community – the services and innovation that commercial space start-ups can offer is becoming ever more dynamic.  The trick is getting it right.  Join Colleen Stover (Center for Space Policy & Strategy) as she talks to leaders from The Aerospace Corpora...

The Aerospace Corporation analog mission crew will be entering the Mars Desert Research Station   (MDRS) in Utah to simulate living and working on Mars.  What experiments will help understand the future of human space exploration?  What do they expect to learn about how the future of off planet living will be and how can space policy today support the future?  Join Aerospace analog astronauts Barb...

What’s the difference between the EU, ESA, and the individual countries in Europe when it comes to space? How do shifting geo-politics shape the continent’s relationship to space? What’s the role of space power and the private sector in Europe?  Join Dr Mick Gleason from The Center for Space Policy & Strategy as he hosts Dr Kai-Uwe Schrogl, Special Advisor for Political Affairs to the Director...

The value of space goes beyond your GPS.  From timestamped banking to precision farming, and from disaster recovery to wildfire mitigation – the value of space reaches beyond what you might think.  How do we sustain the benefits space offers?  The Aerospace Corporation and Space ISAC  (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) have teamed up for the 3rd annual Value of Space Summit to look at susta...

More traffic on the road means more rules to protect drivers – the same is true for the space domain.  With more actors, larger constellations, and expanding human space flight – there needs to be greater attention to safety in space if we are to continue reaping benefits from space.  The Aerospace Corporation’s Space Safety Institute has issued a collection of research and writings that encompass...

What are key past, present, and future efforts by the U.S. government to help shape norms of behavior for making space safe, secure, and sustainable?  What does the recent US commitment not to conduct destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile testing mean? In this episode Robin Dickey (Center for Space Policy & Strategy) talks to Rick Grubb (Department of State, Office of Emergi...

What efforts are underway to prove that we aren’t alone in the universe? How will the market evolve for commercial space stations in LEO, in-space manufacturing, space tourism, and a robust cislunar ecosystem? Dr Pete Worden  (Chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation and Executive Director of the foundation’s ‘Breakthrough Initiatives’) discusses these questions and more with Dr Angie Bukley...

Once again the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) has released the annual State of the Satellite Industry Report 2022 , produced by BryceTech. Today’s show features the Center for Space Policy and Strategy’s Audrey Allison talking to Tom Stroup , President of SIA, about key findings from the report. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about performance indicators from growing key sectors like s...

What is the difference between an exercise and a wargame? How does space play into game design? What makes a wargame good versus poorly designed? In this episode, Aerospace’s Dr. Nick Martin talks to other experts in the field: Dr. Ellie Bartels , co-Director of RAND Corporation’s Center for Gaming , and Brian Raymond , Director of US Space Force’s STARCOM Delta 10 : Doctrine and Wargaming which i...

There are many existing terrestrial sources for renewable energy including hydroelectric, geothermal, solar and wind. But Space Based Solar Power (SBSP) promises to harness unlimited sunlight from space.  In this episode, Karen Jones (Space Economist and Policy Analyst, Center for Space Policy & Strategy) talks to Martin Soltau   (co-Chair of the United Kingdom’s Space Energy Initiative) and J...

While the US military has traditionally managed the world’s space situational awareness (SSA) database of objects orbiting Earth, the bulk of this service is being transferred to the civilian US Office of Space Commerce (OSC).  What is a “basic” tracking service that OSC could offer versus an “advanced” service that paying customers could use a commercial company for? How can commercial SSA compan...

How do satellites help identify threats and track misbehavior at sea? What role do international and commercial space partnerships play in increasing our understanding of what is happening in the maritime domain? To learn more, join Kara Hernandez, from The Center for Space Policy & Strategy, and Dr. John Mittleman of US Naval Research Laboratory’s Naval Center for Space Technology  in this ep...

Space Operations Command (SpOC) was redesignated and transferred to the US Space Force less than two years ago. SpOC supports the operations readiness of USSF’s intelligence, cyber, space and combat forces.  In this episode Leslie Blackham (Principal Director, Aerospace) hosts Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting (Commander, SpOC) to talk about the field command’s vision for the future, the role of integratio...