Space Security Program
Space infrastructure is essential for the proper functioning of European and U.S. societies, economies, and security architectures. Should access to, and use of, space be compromised, particularly by deliberate actions of other actors, the damage could be detrimental to our day-to-day lives. Accordingly, PSSI’s Space Security Program, launched in 2010, has been especially active in identifying key risks and threats to space activities and creative deterrence and response options for decision-makers. A centerpiece of the program is its Space Security Conference series that has focused on strengthening space security through partnerships. The program likewise embodies an academic dimension in the form of an academic course entitled “Space Security in the 21st Century” under the auspices of Charles University’s Master’s Degree Program in International Security Studies, co-sponsored by PSSI. PSSI likewise sponsors a Ph.D. scholarship in space security.
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PSSI has been at the forefront of the European space security debate, producing analyses and international conferences for the international space community. The Institute, in partnership with PSSI Washington, initiated in 2011 what is now regarded as the leading NGO conference series in this field. Five such international conferences have been convened to date, involving leading space security experts and senior officials from Europe, the Unites States and Japan. Three were held in Prague (2011, 2016, 2019), one in Tokyo (2014), and one in Washington, DC (2017). The key partnering organizations have included the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office of National Space Policy, the Secure World Foundation (CWF), and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
In 2015, PSSI helped configure and structure an academic course entitled, “Space Security in the 21st Century”, taught within the curriculum of Charles University’s Master’s Degree Program in International Security Studies. Other educational venues in this field include PSSI’s Security Scholars Program and its NATO Summer School. It is likewise funding an approved Ph.D. scholarship in Space Security at Charles University in Prague.
Presently, PSSI is seeking to develop the most effective means to counter what it terms “space hybrid warfare”. PSSI also examines the competing models of international space partnerships. We are offering a creative toolkit for allied pre-crisis planning and management via promoting the institutionalization of behavioral norms, strengthened resiliency, and effective deterrence and accountability/enforcement measures. The latter involves economic and financial (E&F) cross-domain responses to space-related disruptions and/or attacks.
Finally, besides its widely recognized conference series, PSSI actively contributes to the transatlantic space security debate through roundtables, publications, speaking engagements, and analyses.