NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY HOSTS ROBUST DISCUSSION OF SPACE POLICY

Wide-Ranging Presentations Highlight the Complexities Facing Private and National Space Actors

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL, USA, June 7, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — At the 41st annual International Space Development Conference^® (ISDC^®) held in Frisco, Texas last week, the National Space Society (NSS) hosted an incisive collection of talks on space policy and its ramifications for space settlement in the 21st century. The sessions were chaired by Michelle Hanlon of For All Moonkind and Co-Director of the Air and Space Law Program at the University of Mississippi School of Law and its Center for Air and Space Law. Hanlon served as the President of the NSS from 2021 through early 2023 and remains a member of the Board of Directors.

“Policy decisions drive agendas and help to move the needle forward,” said Karlton Johnson, Chairman of the NSS Board of Governors. “The ISDC 2023 policy track has positioned the NSS to take the high ground in the ‘space for all’ conversation. Many thanks to the remarkable team that shepherded this track, and to NSS leadership for their focus on advancing space settlement another step forward.”

Among the notable speakers were:

• Kwame Newton, a Senior Analyst at Renaissance Strategic Advisors, who addressed the topic of space resources and their ongoing availability to all;

• Leah Cheli of the University of Mississippi Center for Air & Space Law on regulation of newspace activities;

• Namrata Goswami of Arizona State University on what different nationalities and actors choose to prioritize in space development;

• Peter Garretson of the American Foreign Policy Council on progress in U.S. space policy;

• Dr. Greg Autry of the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU on how lawyers, MBAs, and “policy wonks” will determine our future in space;

• Alexandra Dolce, a Fellow of For All Moonkind’s Institute on Space Law and Ethics and who serves on the NSS Roadmap to Space Settlement Committee, on the need for a specialized “space court” to address legal concerns off-Earth.

• Ian Perry who attended in his personal capacity to discuss liability for accidents in space.

Hanlon noted, “My goal in curating the policy track at this year’s ISDC was to encourage discussion about the role of law and policy with regard to societies beyond Earth,” said Hanlon. “The audience was quite engaged and we opened up the proceedings to their terrific questions and comments—it was a truly wholistic discussion!”

Dale Skran, COO of the National Space Society, noted, “Among many noteworthy presentations on policy and legal issues in the new space age, Leah Cheli made an excellent case for the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Commerce having the lead role in regulating new activities in space, and Alexandra Dolce presented a timely and carefully crafted proposal for an international space court. One of the purposes of the ISDC is to provide a platform for ideas like these.”

ABOUT THE ISDC

The International Space Development Conference is hosted by the National Space Society and focuses on cutting-edge topics in spaceflight, exploration, and development. It is held in various locations throughout the United States annually. For more information on the ISDC, go to the ISDC website.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY

The National Space Society was founded in 1987 via a merger of the National Space Institute and the L5 Society. The NSS is the preeminent citizen’s voice on space exploration, development, and settlement. To learn more about the NSS and its mission to establish humanity as a spacefaring species, visit us on the web at space.nss.org.

Dale Skran
National Space Society
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