The future of space: congested and contested

The future of space: congested and contested

Space might be a big place but the United Nations regards it as ‘congested, contested and competitive’.

This latest episode of Next Giant Leap, a podcast produced by GZERO Media in partnership with the space company MDA Space, explores the threats and tensions as space becomes busier and of greater strategic importance for an increasing number of countries.

“We have to avoid, by all means, that it becomes a Wild West,” says Tanja Masson-Zwaan, a space law expert at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She adds, “We have regulations, laws and treaties that have been in place for the last fifty years, but we need more to govern this new frontier of space utilization, because the rules that we have are basic principles and do not go into the details.”

Satellites are now being deployed to Low Earth Orbit at a rate of thousands every year. This zone of space is already littered with old defunct satellites and the remains of discarded sections of rockets which have accumulated over more than five decades. The risk of collisions is increasing, raising fears of a runaway cascade of space debris.

Tests of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons have showered still more debris into Low Earth Orbit. Since 2007, China, the United States, India and Russia have conducted ASAT tests. Last year the United States announced its own moratorium on ASAT tests and, through a United Nations resolution, it has called for other nations to follow suit. So far China, Russia and India have not signed up. So is space set to become a new theater for conflict and weapons proliferation?

“Look at how satellites have become embedded in our way of life,” says Kevin Whale, senior director of defense strategy at MDA Space. “If we wreck space, it’s almost one step down from nuclear catastrophe”.

Within a few years, a new phase of the space race will begin. Both the United States and China will be competing to get people to the moon and exploit its resources, particularly water ice in craters at the lunar south pole.

According to Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, “The Outer Space Treaty says space is the province of all mankind, meaning it's open to usage really by everybody. On the other hand, the principles say we should avoid harmful interference. And so the question is, how do we go about balancing those two imperatives: open to everybody but avoid harmful interference?”

Host: Kevin Fong

Guests: Tanja Masson-Zwaan, Scott Pace, Kevin Whale

Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Avsnitt(415)

The North Korean Conundrum with Victor Cha

The North Korean Conundrum with Victor Cha

Are the U.S. and North Korea moving toward conflict or a lasting peace? This week Ian Bremmer talks to Professor Victor Cha, the man who was nearly U.S. ambassador to South Korea, until the White House thought otherwise.  Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

8 Okt 201818min

Satire in a World On Edge with Andy Borowitz

Satire in a World On Edge with Andy Borowitz

Ian talks with comedian and New Yorker satirist Andy Borowitz about how he views satire in the age of Trump, and why it's never been harder, or more important, to get it right. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

3 Okt 201819min

The Future (of Global Leadership) is Female with Melanne Verveer

The Future (of Global Leadership) is Female with Melanne Verveer

Georgetown University's Melanne Verveer talks about how global leadership for women is changing in a #MeToo era. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

24 Sep 201817min

Adam Davidson on “Trump Fact and Fiction”

Adam Davidson on “Trump Fact and Fiction”

Ian sits down with The New Yorker's Adam Davidson, who follows the money around President Trump and tries to separate fact from fiction.  Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

10 Sep 201817min

Kevin Rudd and China's Future

Kevin Rudd and China's Future

This week Ian talks all things China with Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

27 Aug 201815min

A Brave New (Virtual) World with Jared Cohen

A Brave New (Virtual) World with Jared Cohen

This week with Jigsaw CEO Jared Cohen:"The first attack on any society is going to be an attack on the conversation." Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

21 Aug 201817min

Victoria Nuland and a Lonely Europe

Victoria Nuland and a Lonely Europe

Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Victoria Nuland talks with Ian about why Europe must lead where Trump will not. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

13 Aug 201819min

Cyber Threats with David Sanger

Cyber Threats with David Sanger

Ian brightens things up by talking cyber warfare with Pulitzer prize winner David Sanger. Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

7 Aug 201822min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
motiv
aftonbladet-krim
p3-krim
flashback-forever
politiken
rss-viva-fotboll
fordomspodden
aftonbladet-daily
rss-sanning-konsekvens
rss-vad-fan-hande
spar
rss-krimstad
rss-krimreportrarna
olyckan-inifran
blenda-2
rss-frandfors-horna
dagens-eko
rss-flodet
rss-expressen-dok