Dr. Almudena Azcárate Ortega

Senior Program Analyst, Space Law and Regulation
Dr. Almudena Azcárate Ortega

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Dr. Almudena Azcárate Ortega's CV

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Dr. Almudena Azcárate Ortega leads Space Law and Regulation work at Secure World Foundation as a Senior Program Analyst. She has a decade of experience working in international law, primarily focused on outer space issues.

Prior to joining SWF, Dr. Azcárate Ortega was the lead Space Security Researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), where she was in charge of leading the design and implementation of the Institute’s research projects and strategies on space issues. She has published widely, briefed UN Member States on the topics of space law and policy, and has presented her research in multiple fora. She has led UNIDIR’s participation in several multilateral processes related to outer space matters. She currently retains an affiliation to UNIDIR as a Fellow.

Dr. Azcárate Ortega is also an Academic Fellow with the Center on National Security at Georgetown University. She is licensed to practice law in Spain, and prior to joining UNIDIR, she worked as a lawyer focused on high-stakes international litigation and arbitration for one of Spain’s top law firms, Uría Menéndez.

Education

Dr. Azcárate Ortega holds a doctorate in Space Security Law from Georgetown University, focused on the distinction between dual-use and dual-purpose space systems. She also holds an LL.M. in National Security Law from the same institution, where she was awarded Georgetown’s Thomas Bradbury Chetwood, S.J. Prize for the most distinguished academic performance in the programme. She holds a dual Masters degree in Legal Practice and Corporate Law from the University of Navarra, Spain, and received her LL.B. from the same institution.

More Publications

Papers / Reports

Visionary Versus Reactionary. The future of space security in the age of artificial intelligence
Co-author with Ioana Bratu, UNIDIR, 2025

Counterspace Capabilities: Inevitable Star Wars or A Renewed Hope for International Governance?
Co-author with Victoria Samson, CIGI, 2025

Outer Space & Use of Force
Co-author with Erin Pobjie, UNIDIR, 2024

OEWG on Reducing Space Threats: Recap Report
Co-author with Sarah Erickson, UNIDIR, 2024

To Space Security and Beyond: Exploring Space Security, Safety, and Sustainability Governance and Implementation Efforts
Co-author with Sarah Erickson, UNIDIR, 2023

A Lexicon for Outer Space Security
Co-editor with Victoria Samson, UNIDIR, 2023

Constant Vigilance? Verification and Monitoring for Space Security
Co-author with Laetitia Cesari Zarkan and James Revill, UNIDIR, 2023

Norms for Outer Space: A Small Step or a Giant Leap for Policymaking?
Co-author with Jessica West, UNIDIR, 2022

Space Debris, The Dark Side Of The Force Of Kinetic ASAT Technology
Author, 72nd International Astronautical Congress, International Astronautical Federation, 2021

Book Chapters

Space Law & Disarmament and Nonproliferation
Author, Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Space Law, Mahulena Hofmann & P.J. Blount, eds., 2025

Chapter 4: Space launch vehicles and ballistic missiles
Co-author with Dmitry Stefanovich, Exploring Options for Missile Verification, Pavel Podvig, ed., UNIDIR, 2022

Presentations

The changing landscape of security in outer space
Expert briefing, European Parliament, Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly, Brussels, Belgium, December 3, 2025

Approaches to Space Security: Building Trust, Rules, and Resilience
Panellist, ASEAN Regional Forum Space Security Workshop, Manila, Philippines, November 26, 2025

An overview of space security law and policy: the journey so far and the road ahead
Keynote, Global University Alliance for Outer Space Policy and Law Education, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China, October 23, 2025

The security and defence dimension of space and the EU’s Space Act
Expert briefing, European Parliament Committee on Security and Defence, July 16, 2025, delivered virtually

Risk Reduction and Dual-use for Space
Panellist, WMD Risk Reduction Science and Policy Forum, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, June 24, 2025

Space as the New Battlefield, Challenges to International Security and Stability
Panellist, CISS International Conference on Nuclear Deterrence in the Age of Emerging Technologies, Islamabad, Pakistan, April 23, 2025

Preventing an Arms Race in Space: New Challenges, New Solutions?
Lecture, Freeman Air and Space Institute, King’s College London, March 13, 2025, delivered virtually

Military issues in outer space
Lecture, Space Law Seminar, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, March 12, 2025

The language of space security
Lecture, Space Law course, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China, December 13, 2024

The emergence and meaning of the responsible behaviours paradigm in multilateral debates
Panellist, Responsibility in Space Authors’ Workshop, Academy of International Affairs, Bonn, Germany, December 10, 2024

Outer space security law & policy
Lecture, Technology in International Relations course, Geneva Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland, November 6, 2024

The intertwined relationship of space sustainability and security: how they are both needed to make space safe and predictable for all
Panellist, 75th International Astronautical Congress, Milan, Italy, October 18, 2024

Space Security Multilateralism in the Second Space Age
Keynote, Geopolitics in Outer Space, Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 10, 2024

Arms Control in Outer Space
Lecture, McGill Annual Strategic Space Law Course, September 26, 2024, delivered virtually

Space & Missiles
Lecture, Disarmament Orientation Course for Diplomats, UNIDIR & UNODA, Geneva, Switzerland, September 19, 2024

Threats in and from Space and how to deal with them
Panellist, Switzerland in Space: Navigating between Security Threats and Opportunities, Zurich, Switzerland, July 5, 2024

Outer Space Security & Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Lecture, 10th Summer School on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament for Diplomats in Latin America and the Caribbean, July 3, 2024, delivered virtually

Space Security Law
Expert briefing, United Nations Conference on Disarmament Plenary, Geneva, Switzerland, March 28, 2024

The Importance of Diversity for Space Security and Sustainability: A New Hope for Preventing a Star Wars?
Keynote, Space for Island Nations Conference, Crossroads, Maldives, April 22, 2024

Remote Sensing from Space: Who is Watching the Watchers?
Moderator, ASIL Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, April 5, 2024

The Future of Normative International Law & Space Governance: The Artemis Accords and the Woomera Manual
Panellist, 4th Annual United States Space Command Legal Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado, March 5, 2024

New frontiers of conflict – the new space race
Panellist, Security and Defence Conference 2024, Chatham House, London, United Kingdom, February 27, 2024

Military Uses of Outer Space & International Diplomacy
Lecture, George Washington University, Washington, DC, November 2, 2023

International Space Law and the United Nations
Lecture, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, October 31, 2023

Verification And Monitoring in the Age of Dual-Natured Space Systems
Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security seminar, October 25, 2023, delivered virtually

The Duty of Due Regard as a Foundational Principle of Responsible Behaviour in Outer Space
Panellist, side-event to the 4th session of the OEWG on Reducing Space Threats, Geneva, Switzerland, August 28, 2023

The role of norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviour for space security
Expert briefing, UN Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats, Geneva, Switzerland, January 31, 2023

Building A Viable Debris Remediation Industry - The Role of Government and Industry
Panellist, 8th National Space Policy Secretariat Symposium, February 8, 2023, delivered virtually

Reducing space threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours
Lecture, University of Tokyo, December 13, 2022, delivered virtually

Space, the Next Frontier or Front?
Panellist, 6th Annual Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center Conference, Beirut, Lebanon, December 8, 2022

Space: Political and Legal Dimensions
Panellist, Expert Workshop: Space – Exploring NATO’s Final Frontier, Bologna, Italy, November 10, 2022

Space Situational Awareness & Space Sustainability
Presentation, 11th International SES Workshop – Towards Space Sustainability, Luxembourg, October 20, 2022

Space Policy Forum Panel - Using SSA to Verify Future Space Security Agreements
Panellist, AMOS Conference, Maui, Hawaii, September 26, 2022

Dual-use and dual-purpose objects
Expert briefing, UN Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats, Geneva, Switzerland, September 14, 2022

Threats to the security of space activities and systems
Expert briefing, UN Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats, Geneva, Switzerland, September 12, 2022

Threats to the security of space activities and systems
Expert briefing, United Nations Conference on Disarmament Subsidiary Body 3, Geneva, Switzerland, June 7, 2022

Applicable elements of the legal regimes governing aviation and the sea in the context of threats arising from State behaviours with respect to outer space
Expert briefing, UN Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats, Geneva, Switzerland, May 12, 2022

Existing Legal and Regulatory Frameworks concerning threats arising from State behaviours with respect to outer space
Expert briefing, UN Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats, Geneva, Switzerland, May 9, 2022

The Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space – History and Initiatives
Expert briefing, United Nations Conference on Disarmament Subsidiary Body 3, Geneva, Switzerland, March 22, 2022

Importance of including gender perspectives in the substantive analysis of space security
Expert briefing, United Nations Conference on Disarmament Plenary, Geneva, Switzerland, March 8, 2022

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