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  • Breaking Space News: June 23 - 29, 2024

Breaking Space News: June 23 - 29, 2024

As we learn more about Dark Matter, Military entities show interest in Space; Egypt, Senegal, Canada, India and South Africa make strides in Space Exploration, and Chang'e and Bennu offer a glimpse into artifacts from the Moon and a distant asteroid.

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Lagrangian Despatch & Maharshi Bhattacharya
June 30, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 31 minutes

Dear Lagrangian,

Thanks for joining us this week! We hope that you find this week’s installment interesting and entertaining to read. For the best reading experience, we recommend viewing this newsletter in your web browser. Anything that we missed? Please feel free to leave a message with us.

Enjoy reading!

 

SPACE GOVERNANCE

 

Egypt Leads Africa’s Charge into Space with Collaborative Efforts for Climate Study and ISS Integration

Dr Sherif Sedky, CEO of the Egyptian Space Agency (EGSA), announced that EGSA is set to undertake two major projects to highlight its commitment to advancing space science and international collaboration. The first project, the African Development Satellite, a joint venture involving Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria, is slated for launch by the end of the year, and will serve as a tool for monitoring and studying climate change across Africa. Each participating nation is contributing to the design of the satellite’s subsystems and Egypt is taking the lead in its design, assembly, integration, testing, and launch.

The second project involves the installation of a remote-sensing camera on the International Space Station (ISS), a venture supported by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the multinational aerospace corporation Airbus. The camera, which will be designed, assembled, and tested in Egypt, will be installed on the ISS, marking another significant step in EGSA’s space exploration journey. It was also announced that another key project, ‘SPINX’, funded by the Academy of Scientific Research and aimed at studying climate change, is set to launch by end of 2024.

South African Space Agency Joins UN-SPIDER as a Regional Support Office to Strengthen Disaster Management in the region

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has been officially recognized as the 28th Regional Support Office (RSO) for the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and its Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER).

Confirmed at the 67th session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space's (COPUOS), as a new RSO, SANSA will work with UN-SPIDER on outreach, capacity building, horizontal cooperation, and technical support, enhancing regional disaster management and emergency response.

Credit: UNOOSA

Established in December 2010, SANSA contributes to international space efforts and monitors Earth's magnetic field. Its programs—Earth Observation, Space Operations, Space Science, and the new Space Engineering—focus on space science, engineering, and technology to promote development, build human capital, and provide essential national services.

Senegalese Space Study Agency and SatNav Africa JPO Join Forces to Enhance Space Tech in Africa

The Senegalese Space Study Agency (ASES) and SatNav Africa Joint Programme Office (JPO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance satellite navigation and space applications in Africa.

The MOU establishes a framework for collaboration, fostering innovation in space tech across Africa. Some of the initiatives as part of this partnership, aimed at cultivating space tech ecosystem, include educational programs like webinars to equip national maritime, agricultural, and geospatial sectors with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Additionally, a program specifically designed to inspire young girls to explore careers in space science and technology is planned.

To place Senegal at the forefront of Africa’s burgeoning space industry and solidify the continent’s position in the sector, the roadmap also includes an international conference dedicated to satellite navigation and a hackathon focused on Earth observation.

 

MILITARY IN SPACE

US Invests $977 Million in Lockheed Martin for Extended Development of Missile-Warning Satellites

Lockheed Martin Space has been granted a $977.5 million contract extension for the ongoing development, testing, and on-orbit support of two geosynchronous missile-warning satellites. This extension raises the total value of Lockheed Martin’s contract for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) program to $8.2 billion. The Next-Gen OPIR satellites will detect and track ballistic missile launches, providing early warning of potential attacks. However, the program, which was initially envisioned as a five-satellite constellation, has been downsized to two geosynchronous satellites. This contract extension by the Pentagon, known as Phase 2.1B, prolongs Lockheed Martin’s involvement until 2029. Despite this, the program has faced its share of hurdles, including payload delays that could potentially postpone the launch of the first OPIR GEO satellite from 2025 to 2026.

US Rocket Cargo Program: The Unsettling Transformation of Military Logistics

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Gen. Stephen Whiting, U.S. Space Command commander, and Lt. Gen. David Miller, Space Operations Command commander, at USSPACECOM’s headquarters, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, May 30, 2024. (Credit: U.S. Space Command photo by Christopher DeWitt)

The U.S. Space Command’s “rocket cargo” program is an experimental initiative that aims to use reusable rockets, such as SpaceX’s Starship, for rapid global (earth-bound) military cargo transport . The concept is to deliver military cargo anywhere in the world within an hour.

The program began in 2018 with feasibility studies, and in 2022, the Department of the Air Force awarded SpaceX a $102 million contract for technology demonstrations. The program is designated as a Department of the Air Force “Vanguard” program, and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is now working with various vendors including SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Blue Origin.

General Stephen Whiting, the head of U.S. Space Command, speaking at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, expressed support for the initiative, and acknowledged that operational details remain undecided, reports SpaceNews.

While promising, it faces technical, economic, and regulatory challenges including issues related to international rocket flights, and could have significant international implications, particularly for developing nations. The program could potentially foster technology transfer and collaboration, and if it leads to more efficient cargo transport, it could economically benefit these nations by reducing logistics costs.

The program also raises security concerns due to its potential military use and could contribute to the growing problem of space debris. It might also necessitate changes in international space and aviation laws, and the environmental impact of increased rocket launches is an area of concern.

US Deploys Spy-Satellites towards building a Proliferated Constellation of Satellites, to increase “space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance”

The U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 30 and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), launched the NROL-186 mission onboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, on June 28, 2024. The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Space Launch Delta manages the US Department of Defense space and missile testing, and placement of satellites into orbit from the U.S. west coast, while NRO manufactures US intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance or spy satellites.

This marked the second launch, part of NRO's larger proliferated overhead architecture, a constellation of numerous, smaller imaging satellites designed for "capability and resilience," according to NRO, constructed by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman. The exact count of these satellites has not been revealed.

The NROL-186 mission launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from California, on June 28, 2024. (Credit: SpaceX via X)

It's important to note that the specifics of the NROL-186 satellites and their capabilities remain undisclosed, as the NRO releases few details about its spacecraft and their activities. The impact, consequence and effectiveness of these new satellites will need to be evaluated over time.

Firefly Aerospace to Launch from Sweden’s Esrange Space Centre Advancing NATO’s Space Presence

The Esrange Space Centre, operational since 1966, has been primarily used for launching sounding rockets for microgravity and atmospheric research. In January 2023, it expanded its facilities to accommodate orbital launches. The first launch of the Alpha rocket from this location is slated for 2026, from the Esrange Launch Complex 3C, which will cater to a variety of customers, including commercial, civil, and defense sectors.

This initiative targets the broader European market and supports responsive space missions to enhance NATO national security. Notably, Firefly recently chose Wallops Island, Virginia, over Cape Canaveral for launches and secured a multi-launch deal with Lockheed Martin through 2029.

Bill Weber, the CEO of Firefly Aerospace, emphasized the need for more orbital launch sites worldwide to meet the growing demand among both domestic and international launch customers. This collaboration with SSC distinguishes Firefly as the first U.S. company to launch from continental Europe.

SPACE SCIENCE

Digital Earth Africa’s Revolutionary Monitoring Service will Map the Pulse of Africa’s Waterbodies

Digital Earth Africa has launched a Waterbodies Monitoring Service to track over 700,000 waterbodies across African continent using satellite data. Updated weekly, it provides detailed, accessible data on the surface area of lakes, ponds, reservoirs, wetlands, and rivers, with water body statistics for every country on the African continent. DEA, which operates the world’s largest Open Data Cube (ODC) infrastructure, has co-designed this service with users, and it aims to fill gaps in existing datasets, noted Dr. Lisa-Maria Rebelo, the Lead Scientist at Digital Earth Africa. A pioneering effort, unique among satellite-based global surface water datasets due to its accessible and operational nature, this service incorporates more than forty years of satellite observations, including that from Landsat and is available via an API for custom queries. This service is a significant step in environmental management and decision-making for the continent.

The service aims to provide timely, relevant, and interpretable information to decision-makers by packaging Earth observation data into accessible and free datasets.

Five Landsat-8 views of iceberg B-44 in West Antarctica in 2017 animated (Credit: NASA Earth Observatory, image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey, Kathryn Hansen)

The service can be accessed here.

India’s ISRO moves Towards Autonomous and Reusable Space Technology with Pushpak

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully completed the third and final landing experiment of its reusable launch vehicle (RLV LEX - 03), named 'Pushpak', on June 23, 2024. The test was carried out at the Aeronautical Test Range in Karnataka, India.

ISRO completes its RLV technology demonstrations through LEX 03. (Credit: ISRO)

Learnings from the first two landing tests were crucial in strengthening Pushpak’s mechanical structures and landing gear to tolerate higher landing speeds, with the final one being under more challenging conditions, including harsher wind. Pushpak, a 21-foot-long space plane, was flown by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter to an altitude of about 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) and released mid-air. The vehicle was intentionally released 1640 feet (500 meters) off-center from the runway below. Despite being misaligned with the runway, Pushpak autonomously maneuvered itself to approach the runway and executed an accurate touchdown at the center.

The successful test brings ISRO closer to operating a reusable launch vehicle within this decade. This technology can be adapted for cost-effective use across missions. ISRO will now focus on launching a larger spaceplane, testing it in orbit, and demonstrating its re-entry and runway landing capabilities.

Insights from Asteroid Bennu help Unravel the Origins of Life

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft embarked on a seven-year journey through the solar system, returning to Earth on September 24, 2023, with a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. This sample, the largest unaltered asteroid material on Earth, is a treasure trove of information about our solar system’s past and possibly the origin of life on Earth. The sample, weighing approximately 120 grams, is currently under analysis by scientists. They are hopeful that it will reveal clues about our solar system’s history and the prebiotic molecules that could shed light on how life began on Earth. Early studies have already found evidence of carbon and water in the samples.

The research team’s study confirmed that the asteroid is rich in carbon, nitrogen, and some organic compounds. These elements, along with the detected magnesium phosphate, are essential components for life as we know it on Earth. One of the most surprising discoveries was the detection of magnesium-sodium phosphate, an ionic compound found in certain minerals and geological formations on Earth. The presence of this compound on Bennu suggests that the asteroid might have originated from a tiny, primitive ocean world that no longer exists.

A tiny fraction of the asteroid Bennu sample returned by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, shown in microscope images. The top-left pane shows a dark Bennu particle, about a millimeter long, with an outer crust of bright phosphate. The other three panels show progressively zoomed-in views of a fragment of the particle that split off along a bright vein containing phosphate, captured by a scanning electron microscope. (Credit: Lauretta & Connolly et al. (2024) Meteoritics & Planetary Science, doi:10.1111/maps.14227.)

Dante Lauretta, co-lead author of the paper and principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona, Tucson, stated that the phosphates found on Bennu, along with other elements and compounds, indicate that the asteroid had a watery past.

Collins Aerospace’s Exit of Spacesuit Development Deal signals a Setback for NASA

Collins Aerospace, an RTX Corp (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corporation) subsidiary, is reportedly in talks with NASA to terminate its contract for developing new spacesuits for the International Space Station (ISS). In 2022, NASA awarded a $3.5 billion contract to Collins and Axiom Space for creating new spacesuits for ISS and future lunar missions. Collins, which received an initial $97 million for ISS suit development, has encountered difficulties and delays in the program.

Collins Aerospace and NASA have agreed to descope the xEVAS task orders due to timeline misalignment with the ISS schedule and NASA’s goals. This may shift future suit responsibilities to Axiom, a startup managing astronaut flights and building a space station. NASA has not outlined steps to find a new suit developer.

Collins Aerospace conducted tests on a new spacesuit designed for International Space Station spacewalks, utilizing 40 parabolic flights with Zero G. (Credit: Collins Aerospace)

The discussions to terminate Collins’ contract coincide with a challenging period for NASA, marked by a series of astronaut spacewalk cancellations at the ISS due to issues with the current, approximately 40-year-old, spacesuits managed by Collins. Notably, a “spacesuit discomfort issue” led to the cancellation of a planned spacewalk on June 13, and a subsequent attempt was aborted due to a water leak in U.S. astronaut Tracy Dyson’s suit.

Canadarm3, Canada’s Next-Gen Robotic System for the Lunar Outpost - Gateway, to commence Construction

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has announced the commencement of design, construction, and testing of the robotic arm system, Canadarm3 for the lunar orbital space station, Gateway. The Canadian space technology company, MDA Space, has been awarded $999.8 million to continue work on Canadarm3.

Canadarm3, a sophisticated robotic system, will serve as a critical component of the Gateway, a small outpost orbiting the Moon. Unlike the International Space Station (ISS), the Gateway will be crewed only for a portion of the year. Canadarm3 will be used to maintain, repair, and inspect the Gateway, relocate modules, assist astronauts during spacewalks, capture visiting spacecraft, and enable science in lunar orbit.

An artist's representation of Canadarm3, Canada's robotic system, that will be located on the exterior of lunar orbital outpost, Gateway. (Credits: Canadian Space Agency)

The operations of Canadarm3 will be highly autonomous, minimizing the need for direct human intervention, representing a leap forward in spacecraft capability. This project is expected to involve hundreds of Canadian organizations, supporting innovative small and medium-sized businesses and research organizations across the country.

NASA’s Dual-Coast Mission is Mapping Air Pollution from the Skies

NASA is conducting a mission to map air pollution over both the East and West coasts of the United States. The mission, which runs from June 17 to July 2, 2024, involves flying aircraft over Baltimore, Philadelphia, parts of Virginia, and California to collect data on air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

Two research aircraft are flying at lower altitudes than commercial planes, performing vertical spirals, circling over power plants, landfills, urban areas, and conducting “missed approaches” at local airports. They collect data on greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, and air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, and ozone. This data will validate space-based measurements from the TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) mission, which provides hourly daytime air pollutant readings across the U.S., northern Mexico, and southern Canada.

Two NASA aircraft, including the P-3 shown here, will be flying over Baltimore, Philadelphia, Virginia and California between June 17 and July 2, to collect data on air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. (Credit: NASA/Zavaleta)

The mission supports the NASA Student Airborne Research Program for undergraduate interns. The goal of this campaign is to inform policy decisions that affect air quality and climate in the region. The principal investigator for the campaign is Glenn Wolfe, a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Astrobotic’s New offering Mimics the Lunar Surface and its Optical Properties for Simulation and Testing

Astrobotic, a space robotics company, has unveiled its Lunar Surface Proving Ground (LSPG) at its facility in Mojave, California. The LSPG is a 100mx100m high-fidelity 3D test field that replicates the topography and optical properties of the Moon's surface. The terrain of the LSPG is modeled after an actual map of the Moon's South Pole, generated with Astrobotic's LunaRay simulation and terrain modeling tools.

The LSPG will be used for a variety of test campaigns, from precise lunar landing technologies like LiDAR scanners and navigation algorithms to lunar rovers and other robotic systems. It can simulate the extreme lighting conditions encountered at the lunar poles. Sean Bedford, Director of Business Development at Astrobotic, stated that the LSPG stands out as the most realistic test field of this scale, modeled directly from a lunar surface map, anywhere in the world.

Astrobotic’s Xodiac VTVL rocket next to the Lunar Surface Proving Ground (LSPG) in Mojave, CA. (Credit: Astrobotic)

The LSPG hosted the winning teams of NASA's 2023-2024 TechRise Student Challenge. Thirty teams of 6-12th grade students from across the U.S. will fly their experiments on Astrobotic's reusable rocket, Xodiac. Their experiments include terrain mapping, lunar crater detection with LiDAR and AI, and water detection and thermal mapping using infrared cameras.

Astrobotic’s Peregrine, the first U.S. commercial lunar lander, was launched in January on the Vulcan Centaur rocket. Despite losing contact with the lander after it separated from the rocket followed by it’s reentry into Earth’s atmosphere shortly after launch, Astrobotic plans to launch its larger Griffin lander later this year.

China’s Chang’e 6 Return Samples from the Moon’s Far Side ready to be Studied

China’s Chang’e 6 mission has made history by successfully returning samples from the far side of the Moon to Earth. The 53 day mission ended with the capsule reentering Earth's atmosphere on June 25, and landing in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, from where it was transferred to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) in Beijing.

The samples, weighing up to 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms), were collected from the surface of the moon using a scoop and a drill, and will be transferred to specially developed facilities for storage, analysis, and distribution for research. International research teams will receive the samples after two years. The new Chang'e 6 far side samples could provide unprecedented insights into why the near and far sides of the moon are so different.

Chang'e 6 lunar mission's samples from the far side of the moon are being removed by technicians. (Credit: CCTV)

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

How Observations from Crater II Galaxy Are Changing Our View of Dark Matter

The galaxy Crater II, located about 380,000 light-years from the Milky Way, may provide new insights into dark matter. Dark matter, which makes up over 80% of the universe's mass, remains undetected. A new study suggests that Crater II might contain Self-Interacting Dark Matter (SIDM), a type of dark matter with particles that are predicted to interact through an unknown force beyond gravity, offering an alternative to conventional "cold" dark matter.

The research revealed a strong correlation between the predictions of SIDM and the observations from Crater II. It also indicated that the necessary intensity of dark matter self-interaction exceeded initial expectations. These findings could potentially shed new light on our understanding of dark matter and its influence on galaxy formation and evolution.

50 dwarf galaxies surround the Milky Way. New research suggests that one of them, known as Crater II, may consist of dark matter particles that interact with each other. (Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC)

The findings of the study were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Frequency of Meteoroid Impact on Martian Surface is redefined by NASA’s InSight Lander

A recent study led by a researcher from Brown University, using data from NASA’s Mars InSight Lander, suggests that Mars may be bombarded by meteoroids more frequently than previously thought. The impact rates could be two to ten times higher, depending on the size of the meteoroids.

The study used InSight’s seismometer to identify eight new meteoroid impact craters on Mars, challenging existing notions about impact frequency and suggesting a need to revise Martian cratering models. Six craters were near the InSight Lander, while two distant impacts were the largest ever detected, each creating a football field-sized crater just 97 days apart, highlighting the higher frequency of such events. The study sheds new light on the understandings of the Martian surface and planetary impact history. However, the results are based on limited examples, and the estimated impact rate suggests Mars is hit more frequently than imaging shows.

The solar arrays on NASA's InSight lander are deployed in this test inside a clean room at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver. This configuration is how the spacecraft will look on the surface of Mars. The image was taken on April 30, 2015. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin Space)

The findings of the study were published in Science Advances.

Proliferation of Satellites - Satellite Megaconstellations pose a New Threat to Ozone Layer Recovery

A recent study, conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, has found that the rise of satellite megaconstellations could pose a threat to the recovery of the ozone layer. The research indicates that concentrations of ozone-damaging aluminum oxides in Earth’s atmosphere could increase by 650% in the coming decades due to an increase in the number of defunct satellites burning up during reentry.

The double star Albireo in Cygnus taken on 26 December 2019. Two out of ten 2.5-minute exposures recorded Starlink satellites moving across the field. (Credit: Rafael Schmall/NOIRLab)

The study is the first to model pollutant generation in the atmosphere and estimate their concentration changes due to the forecasted increase in satellites. Satellite megaconstellations, consisting of hundreds or thousands of satellites, are a growing concern. When defunct satellites burn up, they release aluminum, leading to ozone-destroying aluminum oxides.

In 2022, about 332 metric tons of old satellites burned up, producing 17 metric tons of aluminum oxide particles. From 2016 to 2022, these oxides in the atmosphere increased eightfold and will continue to rise with more satellites. This could hinder the ozone layer's recovery, which, damaged in the 1980s due to the use of chlorine- and fluorine-rich gases in refrigerants and aerosol sprays, had been improving since the 1987 Montreal Protocol banned harmful gases. However, this progress may face a new threat from megaconstellations.

OPINION

The Irony of Preparedness: A Critical Look at U.S., Russia, and China’s Contentious Dance in Space

According to the US Space Command, it is prepared for a potential Russian satellite attack. General Stephen Whiting, the head of U.S. Space Command, commented on recent reports indicating that Russia has deployed “co-planar” spacecraft positioned to monitor U.S. satellites.

Whiting noted that the deployment was expected. “We’ve been tracking objects on orbit for decades,” he said. “We can compare this launch to similar Russian launches in 2017, 2019, and 2022, which appear to be counter-space weapons now in operational use.”

"Co-planar" refers to satellites positioned on the same geometric plane. A co-planar spacecraft, implies that it is in alignment to another satellite's orbit, enabling them to monitor, track, and potentially interfere with the latter.

The general’s comments come amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the space domain. Intelligence reports have warned about Russia allegedly working on a nuclear anti-satellite weapon that is in development but has not been deployed. Earlier this year, in late April, Russia vetoed a U.S.-Japan resolution prohibiting the placement of nuclear weapons in space. Russia and China proposed an amendment for a comprehensive ban on all weapons, “for all time,” in space, including nuclear weapons and WMDs, which was not adopted. In May, Russia circulated a similar U.N. resolution, which also failed to pass.

U.S. Space Command is taking these activities seriously and actively rehearsing a response to potential attacks on U.S. space assets, SpaceNews reports. An attack on satellites could have far-reaching consequences, potentially disrupting critical services such as GPS navigation, weather forecasting, and military communications.

However, the U.S. Space Command’s readiness for a potential Russian satellite attack, can be seen as sanctimonious, given the U.S.'s own activities in space. Satellites may be used for various purposes, including surveillance, but the perception of threat arises when similar technology is used with hostile intent. Wealthy nations exerting control, is a complex issue in the realm of space activities.

On the other hand, the RAND Corporation has released a report indicating that China’s stance on space competition could unintentionally heighten military tensions with the United States. The report, “China’s Growing Risk Tolerance in Space,” suggests that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China has become increasingly assertive and willing to take risks, reflecting the directives of Xi Jinping to proactively influence the international environment.

The study claims that Chinese leaders perceive themselves as being in a direct contest with the U.S. for space-based military power. They hold deep-seated suspicions about the U.S., seeing it as a powerful nation in decline that may react against emerging powers like China. This perspective has led to an overestimation of U.S. threats and a policy that avoids cooperation with the U.S., thereby increasing the risk of unintentional crisis escalation.

The report advises the U.S. against heavily investing in crisis communication mechanisms with the PLA, as these efforts are unlikely to be reciprocated and may lead to fruitless negotiations. The RAND analysis highlights a trend of "worst-case thinking" in PLA scholarship, which overemphasizes the threat of U.S. space capabilities, increasing the risk of escalation and instability.

Space is considered a global commons, by most nations, and not so by a few, but ideally, all nations should have equal access and rights. However, advanced space-faring nations often end up setting the rules due to their capabilities, and the situation is further compounded when the military, which historically had limited involvement in space, starts showing interest. The space landscape is now rapidly evolving with the emergence of capable new private and public players as well as entities like the US Space Force and escalating international tensions, which further makes the path to the peaceful use of space treacherous.

This underscores the need for comprehensive international laws to ensure equal access, prevent conflicts, and maintain space as a peaceful domain for all.

Despatch Out. 👽🛸