April 2025 SWF Newsletter

Insight Piece

Space-based systems and products have become more integral to our daily lives than ever before, not only for public services but also for meeting everyday private sector needs, as the space sector continues to expand with promising growth. This brings us to a crucial question: how can we best utilize the shared domain of outer space? The answer is we must ensure we do so sustainably for the benefit of all humankind. Read more.

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• Ana Maricela Ávila Becerril joins the SWF Advisory Committee. Ms. Ávila Becerril serves as Minister Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations in New York, where she actively engages in advancing international cooperation on space and sustainable development.
• Richard DalBello joins the SWF Advisory Committee. Mr. DalBello is the former Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the U.S. Department of Commerce and currently serves as Principal at RDB Space.

• Now Accepting Applications: Dr. Michael Simpson Scholarship Fund 2025. Secure World Foundation is now accepting applications for the Dr. Michael Simpson Scholarship Fund 2025, which supports young professionals in attending the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3, 2025. Apply now.

• Krystal Azelton, Senior Director, Program Planning was featured in an interview with Mike Gruss on SpaceNews on Tuesday April 8, 2025 at the 40th Space Symposium. Watch the interview now.
• Secure World Foundation is pleased to announce the release of the updated 2025 edition of the COPUOS Briefing Book, a key resource for understanding the structure, history, and current issues addressed by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). This year’s edition debuts alongside new French, Spanish, and Russian translations, made possible through the support of Intersputnik. These language editions and the revised English version will be available in limited print quantities during the 64th session of the COPUOS Legal Subcommittee, taking place May 5–16, 2025, in Vienna. Digital versions of all language editions will also be available on May 5th here.
• Secure World Foundation is proud to announce two new signatories to the Space Industry Statement in Support of International Commitments to Not Conduct Destructive Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Tests. These two new signatories are Max Space and NuSpace Pte. Ltd. You can read the statement that SWF coordinated here. This brings the total to 54 companies from 17 countries that have signed this statement thus far, demonstrating an interest in the protection & long-term sustainability of the space environment, including the future economic development of low Earth orbit. Thank you to the broad group of space industry actors who have joined as signatories. This statement is still open for signature; if you are interested in joining these 54 companies, you can learn more here.

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• Secure World Foundation is proud to announce the release of the 2025 version of its annual report, “Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment.” This report has literally doubled since we started it in 2018: from covering 6 countries to now covering 12 countries, from 148 pages to 316 pages. This is a statement in and of itself of how much counterspace activities have grown globally. The report covers 12 countries: the United States, Russia, China, India, Australia, France, Iran, Israel, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. To learn more, please go here. To hear from the report editors, SWF Chief Director of Space Security and Stability Victoria Samson and Laetitia Cesari, a noted space security and law researcher and scholar, please attend the April 25 webinar being held with our colleagues at CSIS to discuss our respective counterspace reports; registration available here.
• SWF Chief Director, Space Security and Stability Victoria Samson testified at the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s hearing, "The Rocket’s Red Glare: China’s Ambitions to Dominate Space” on April 3, 2025. In her testimony, she discussed the role China plays in multilateral space discussions, its perspective on space resources and lunar governance, and the state of its counterspace capabilities. She also noted, in response to a question from the Commission about how the United States could keep its technological edge, that slashing U.S. scientific research programs and weakening NASA “leaves an opening for China’s space program to take advantage of its predictable operating environment to leapfrog the United States.” Read her testimony, including the policy recommendations she gave.
• Space Sustainability and Policy: A Strategic Briefing for U.S. Leadership: The second Trump administration, working together with Congress, federal agencies, and other stakeholders, has the opportunity to continue to place a high priority on space policy and reinforce national space policy decisions that reflect long-standing U.S. principles, which inspire and unify the American public. This briefing book serves as a quick, handy, and concise guide to identifying and understanding major space sustainability policy issues and guidance on how to meet their challenges. Read more.
• Check out ESG in Space, a combined podcast effort between the Secure World Foundation and Exponential Academy, where hosts Nishan Degnarain and Miki Sode sit down with space industry experts to discuss the ESG, the future of space, and changes within the industry.

• April 25 | The Secure World Foundation and CSIS will release the 2025 version of their annual Global Counterspace Threat Assessments via an online webinar; SWF’s Chief Director, Space Security and Stability Victoria Samson, will be discussing the SWF publication at this event. Register here to watch the discussion and ask questions during the conversation.

• May 2 l The Secure World Foundation is proud to support the Colorado Space Renaissance, an event hosted by the Colorado Space Business Roundtable (CSBR) with support from Rogue Space Systems. Located at Taft Law, downtown Denver, Colorado.

• May 28 |The Secure World Foundation’s Krystal Azelton, Senior Director, Program Planning,  will be hosting the discussion, “Understanding Space Sustainability: Handbook for New Actors in Space,” at SmallSat Europe in Amsterdam. Learn more about this event.
• October 22-23 l The 7th Summit for Space Sustainability, co-hosted by the Secure World Foundation, the Centre National D’études Spatiales (CNES), and the Government of France, is a high-level, multi-day international forum located at Centre de Conférences Pierre Mendès France, Paris.

• May 5-9 l The SWF contributes to GEO Global Forum as Senior Director, Program Planning Krystal Azelton participates in the GEO Global Forum in Rome, Italy.
• May 5–16 | The SWF’s Director, Legal Affairs and Space Law, Chris Johnson, will participate in the 64th session of the Legal Subcommittee (LSC) of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in Vienna, Austria.
• May 21 | The SWF’s Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Victoria Samson, will speak at the conference, “Security In Outer Space: Woomera Manual, Military Operations, & Emerging Issues,” held by the Georgetown Center on National Security (CNS) and the American Society of International Law (ASIL) in Washington, DC.
• May 30 | The SWF’s Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Victoria Samson, will speak at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center’s online 2025 Space Policy Certificate Program about China’s space program.

• April 7-10 |The SWF attended the 40th annual Space Symposium held by Space Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• April 1-4 | The SWF’s Senior Director, Private Sector Programs, Ian Christensen, spoke at the 9th European Conference on Space Debris in Bonn, Germany.
• March 26| Chris Johnson, Director, Legal Affairs and Space Law participated in Far Out! Cislunar Research Forum. Review Chris’ presentation.
• March 27-28 |  The Secure World Foundation is co-hosting with the EPFL Space Center and EU COST network FOGOS (and in partnership with the ITU and ERC project PlanetStewards) a workshop on Space Sustainability: Bridging Initiatives and Perspectives in Lausanne, Switzerland. April 7-10 |The SWF attended the 40th annual Space Symposium held by Space Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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With contributions from leading experts like Simonetta Di Pippo (SDA Bocconi & former UNOOSA Director), Dr. Joel Marciano Jr. (Philippine Space Agency), and Walt Everetts (Retired VP, Iridium), the support of more than 60 professionals across the space sector, and our team of internal subject matter experts, this updated edition reflects a truly international effort. Secure World Foundation thanks everyone who helped shape this essential resource for ensuring safe and sustainable space activities. Learn more and download your copy today.