Join Us in Brasília for the 8th Summit for Space Sustainability

The Topical Agenda has been released, and registration is open for the 8th Summit for Space Sustainability. If you expect to join us in Brasília or online, now is a good time to register. Early-bird rates remain available through September 22, and early registration makes it easier to plan your travel, schedule, and participation well ahead of the conference.

SWF is pleased to invite accredited universities and colleges to participate as university sponsors by supporting the attendance of one or more students. This offers a practical way to invest in rising space professionals while connecting your institution to the broader space community. If you or your institution is interested in becoming a university sponsor, please contact the event organizers.

Young professionals and students can register at a reduced rate for both in-person and virtual participation. The Summit for Space Sustainability is designed to help early-career participants and students connect with experts, meet peers, and engage in substantive discussions about the future of space sustainability. In-person attendees will also be invited to a dedicated mentoring session and networking breakfast.

If you work with students or early-career professionals, or mentor rising talent in your network or organization, this is a great opportunity to encourage their participation. This conference seeks to bring new voices into high-level conversations across policy, industry, research, and civil society.

Space Security Portal Completes UN Member State Profiles

The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research has completed profiles for all UN Member States on the Space Security Portal. SWF congratulates the UNIDIR team on this milestone and is proud to have supported the Portal as an implementation partner since its inception.

The Portal maps the global space security governance landscape on a single free, accessible platform, bringing together national policies, doctrines, laws, and other governance materials related to space security. It now includes more than 3,300 data entries across 44 languages, with users in 174 countries.

Click below to explore the Space Security Portal:

Verifying the Prohibition on the Placement of Nuclear Weapons in Outer Space

The Secure World Foundation, the Council on Strategic Risks, and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy held a dialogue in May 2026 to examine legal, technical, and policy pathways for verifying compliance with the Outer Space Treaty (OST)’s prohibition on the placement of nuclear weapons in outer space. The report from the dialogue is now available.

Verifying the Prohibition on the Placement of Nuclear Weapons in Outer Space: Legal, Technical, and Policy Pathways highlights the discussions at the dialogue and ultimately found that preserving and strengthening the OST’s prohibition on nuclear weapons in space is both necessary and achievable, but likely not through treaty renegotiation. A more practical path lies in a layered system of deterrence through education about the threat, SSA, advances in technical options to verify whether satellites are carrying nuclear warheads, commercial participation, and evolving state practice that gradually strengthens compliance and transparency over time. Click below for the full report.

July 18–19, 2026 | 10th European Space Generation Workshop | London, United Kingdom

SWF Program Analyst, Space Security and Stability, Kathleen Brett, will attend the 10th European Space Generation Workshop in London, United Kingdom. Organized by the Space Generation Advisory Council, the workshop brings together students and young professionals to discuss Europe’s future in space. The 2026 workshop will focus on “Securing Europe’s Future in Space” and will include expert-led panels, networking opportunities, and roundtable discussions.

July 23–24, 2026 | Resources for the Future Workshop | Washington, DC

SWF Senior Director, Private Sector Programs, Ian Christensen, will participate in a workshop on resource economics in outer space hosted by Resources for the Future.

August 5–6, 2026 | Future Warfighting Symposium | Newport, Rhode Island

SWF Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Victoria Samson, will speak at the Naval War College’s annual Future Warfighting Symposium. The event kicks off the academic year for the Naval War College and covers issues the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has identified as areas of emphasis for professional military education. Samson will speak on a panel examining security considerations for the space domain.

August 26, 2026 | The Emerging Lunar Economy and Cislunar Governance | Washington, DC

SWF Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Victoria Samson, will speak at “The Emerging Lunar Economy and Cislunar Governance,” a National Academies workshop focused on current governance structures supporting the cislunar economy and major gaps in those structures. Samson will join a panel on why lunar and cislunar governance matter and what could happen if that governance is not done well.

September 8–9, 2026 | ESA 3rd Zero Debris Future Symposium | Seville, Spain

SWF Senior Program Analyst Alex Shi will participate in the ESA 3rd Zero Debris Future Symposium in Seville, Spain. The symposium will provide an opportunity to reflect on community accomplishments, share challenges and progress toward Zero Debris objectives, and explore key commercial and policy issues. The second day will include dedicated workshops on the first Policy Working Groups.

September 11, 2026 | Tabletop Exercise on Nuclear Escalation Dynamics in Space | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

SWF Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Victoria Samson, will participate as a subject matter expert in a tabletop exercise examining nuclear escalation dynamics in space, hosted by the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

June 25, 2026 | Science Diplomacy Talk Series | Virtual

SWF Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Victoria Samson, participated in a fireside chat at the Science Diplomacy Talk Series, co-organized by The Global Network for Science and Diplomacy and The Global Lens | Science Diplomacy in Focus. The session, “Space and Our Shared Future,” can be watched on GNSD’s YouTube channel.

July 2–3, 2026 | A-STAR Workshop | Seoul, Republic of Korea

SWF collaborated with Spacemap Inc. to host the A-STAR Workshop in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The workshop featured space agencies, space situational awareness providers, and satellite operators, and discussed the need for and initial steps toward an Asian regional common platform for space traffic coordination, including alignment with existing national and regional efforts. SWF Senior Director, Private Sector Programs, Ian Christensen, facilitated much of the workshop. “STAR” stands for “Space Traffic Coordination: Awareness Reinforced.”

July 6–9, 2026 | SPACETIDE 2026 | Tokyo, Japan

SWF Senior Director, Private Sector Programs, Ian Christensen, participated in SPACETIDE 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. Christensen moderated the panel “What Are the Cyber Risks Threatening Space Infrastructure in the Commercial Space Age?” drawing on SWF’s Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment report. Speakers represented the Institute of Geoeconomics and the Japan Institute for CyberSpace Studies.

July 6–10, 2026 | Open-Ended Working Group on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space in All its Aspects | Geneva, Switzerland

SWF Executive Director Peter Martinez participated in several events held alongside the Open-Ended Working Group on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space in All its Aspects. He presented SWF’s annual report, Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment, at a lunch hosted by the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Geneva, gave opening remarks at a United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research side event on its Space Security Portal, and delivered SWF’s statement during the civil society portion of the discussions.

July 7–8, 2026 | 3rd Yuelu Arms Control Forum | Changsha, China

SWF Senior Program Analyst, Space Law and Regulation, Almudena Azcárate Ortega, participated in the third Yuelu Arms Control Forum in Changsha, China. Hosted by China’s National University of Defense Technology, the event brought together State representatives, scholars, and subject matter experts to address arms control and security challenges, with a focus on outer space, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. Azcárate Ortega delivered a presentation on grey zone operations in space and the applicable law, highlighting the challenges of effective arms control in a climate of escalation.