Episode 74: Space Debris and Sustainable use of Space

Dr Brian Weeden Space, as the author Douglas Adams said, "is big.
Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely,
mind-bogglingly big it is". After 6 decades of launching
spacecraft, some orbits are now congested with space debris from
collisions and poor end-of-life mission management. This has now
become a serious hazard and even a danger to operational
spacecraft. With plans to launch thousands of additional
satellites, the Mega Constellations, in the coming decade, the need
for some sort of "traffic management" in orbit has never been
greater. The Secure World Foundation was established in 2002 by
philanthropists Marcell Arsenault and his wife Cynda Collins
Arsenault. Its vision of "sustainable and peaceful uses of outer
space contributing to global stability and benefits on Earth" is
timely. In the last decade, the urgency to address the profound
impact of climate change on Earth has finally been (almost)
heeded,  the next decade will focus on space. The SWF is
informing and leading this debate. Dr Brian Weeden is the Director
of Program Planning for Secure World Foundation. In the past,
his responsibilities included intercontinental ballistic
missile(ICBM) operations, working at Cheyenne
Mountain and Vandenberg Air Force Base, and
specialising in Space Situational Awareness in the US Air
Force and Strategic Command's Joint Space Operations Centre
(JSpOC).  In this episode, he talks about the key issues of
space debris, preventing the militarisation of space, raising
awareness of cyber threats to spacecraft, developing resources for
the many nations now developing space programmes, and fostering
standards and policies for commercial uses of space. The SWF
produces some very interesting and readable resources. A selection
below PDF - Weapons and Conflict in Space: History, Reality, and
The Future. A really good primary from Brian Weeden and others PDF
- Handbook for new actors in space PDF - Global Counterspace
Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment PDF - Tomorrow's
Battlefield: Emerging Areas of Military Competition - Space, PDF -
Weapons and Conflict in Space: History, Reality, and The Future MP3
- Big Data, Big Space, Big Risk: Addressing Cyber Security Threats
PDF - Preparing For a “Normalized” Space Domain - Secure World
Foundation