Meeting Summary

With the increasing commercialization and decreasing cost of space operations, we are on the cusp of capitalizing on the enormous market potential in space, similar to the potential which caught the imagination of entrepreneurs and investors when the new world was discovered in the 1400s. [...] Working within the framework of the 2010 National Space Policy, the President directed the Executive Branch in Space Policy Directive 1, on December 11, 2017, to lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system, and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities. [...] And this is especially important in the area of space safety and sustainability, which is essential to the growth of space commerce and to space exploration. [...] One of the first steps is promoting a common understanding of spaceflight safety within the international community, and continuing international and domestic work to promote the long-term safety and sustainability of the space environment. [...] One of the goals of the update was to examine the suitability of some of the current criteria for large constellations and, in particular, with a focus on some of the debris mitigation criteria that are stated in terms of individual satellites.