View Why Hasn’t Starliner Returned? By Clayton Swope PublishedAugust 19, 2024 On June 5, 2024, an Atlas V rocket launched Boeing’s Starliner on its first crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Though it successfully docked with the station, Starliner exhibited anomalies related to its propulsion systems, raising concerns about whether the spacecraft could safely return astronauts to Earth. At the time of writing, NASA…
View What Can We Learn from Ariane for Future Space Partnerships? By Clayton Swope, Stephanie Songer PublishedJuly 9, 2024 Europe’s new space launcher, Ariane 6, the product of work across 13 European nations, is expected to make its inaugural flight on July 9. The rocket’s pedigree stretches back about fifty years to the start of the Ariane project to develop an all-European launch system. Though critics charged that the Ariane project was unnecessary and expensive, it produced…
View Pedal to the Metal: Accelerating Pentagon Integration of Commercial Space By Audrey M. Schaffer PublishedMay 17, 2024 The Department of Defense (DOD) recently released two documents describing a new approach to tapping into private sector space capabilities—the DOD Commercial Space Integration Strategy, issued by the secretary of defense, and the U.S. Space Force Commercial Space Strategy, issued jointly by the chief of space operations and the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space…
View U.S. Civil Space Primer By Madeleine Chang PublishedMay 6, 2024 The civil space ecosystem refers to departments, agencies, and organizations of the federal government that have operational, regulatory, policy, or other responsibilities over the space activities of the United States, including private sector space activities, which are non-military in nature. Civil space has its roots in the National Aeronautics and Space Act of…
View The Evolution of French Space Security By Makena Young PublishedMarch 14, 2024 In the last decade, there has been an international resurgence of focus on space for commercial, civil, and military activities. Space is now a critical domain for many nations around the globe, and both individual countries and multinational coalitions have recently released space policies and strategies. European nations have taken a greater interest in space…
View Mission Authorization: Decoding the Space Policy Dilemma By Clayton Swope PublishedJanuary 11, 2024 On November 15, 2023, the White House’s National Space Council released a legislative proposal that would create a licensing process for private sector novel space activities, called mission authorization, consistent with U.S. obligations under the Outer Space Treaty (OST) of 1967. Meanwhile, Congress and a government-chartered space advisory group have offered their own proposals. While all parties acknowledge…
View Another Leap Forward: India’s Historic Moon Landing and the Space Competition Underway By Kari A. Bingen PublishedAugust 30, 2023 Critical Questions is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s)….
Congressional Testimony: Launching into the State of the Satellite Marketplace By Kari A. Bingen PublishedFebruary 2, 2023 Congressional Testimony focusing on commercial space competition submitted by ASP Director Kari Bingen to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications Technology.
View Low Orbit, High Stakes: All-in on the LEO Broadband Competition By Makena Young, Akhil Thadani PublishedDecember 14, 2022 Commercial LEO broadband efforts are providing access to the internet from space. With the potential to bridge the ‘Digital Divide’ and a worldwide market, competition between companies is heating up
View The Private Sector’s Assessment of U.S. Space Policy and Law By Alyssa Goessler PublishedJuly 25, 2022 U.S. commercial space regulation is quickly becoming outdated and stress on the government system and on U.S. companies is rising. This paper provides insight from representatives of U.S. space companies on the U.S. policy and regulatory system.
