SWF Statement – UN COPUOS STSC, Agenda Item 3: General Exchange of Views (February 2023)

Secure World Foundation presents a comprehensive update on its 2022 activities, reaffirming its commitment to space sustainability, policy development, and international cooperation. The statement emphasizes SWF’s continued efforts to support the LTS guidelines, especially capacity-building for emerging space nations, and its broader advocacy for secure and sustainable space operations.

Key initiatives and highlights include:

• Summit for Space Sustainability:
  Held the 4th Summit in London with 600+ participants (virtual and in-person), co-hosted with the UK Space Agency. The upcoming 5th Summit was announced for June 2023 in New York City.
• CONFERS Developments:
  Supported the Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS), which:
  • Published ISO 24330, the first international satellite servicing standard
  • Launched two new standardization efforts on refueling and fiducial markers
  • Transitioned from DARPA to a fully independent structure open to government and industry participation.
• Regulator Dialogues:
  Hosted Regulator-to-Regulator Dialogues in London and Paris to discuss licensing and oversight for large constellations, featuring research on orbital carrying capacity.
• SSA and AMOS Dialogue:
  Partnered with the AMOS Conference to hold the 10th annual AMOS Dialogue, which focused on how SSA tools can be leveraged to monitor and verify space security agreements.
• China–U.S. Commercial Space Engagement:
  Co-organized bilateral dialogue (with Chinese Society of Astronautics and Caelus Foundation) on commercial space trends. This 2022 session—held during the Paris Peace Forum—included European participation for the first time and examined the benefits and risks of satellite constellations.

The statement ends by reaffirming SWF’s long-term commitment to promoting the peaceful and sustainable use of space, in close collaboration with COPUOS and global partners.