Participants in the AIAA/CEAS International Workshop on Space Cooperation held at ESRIN, 26-31 May 1996
The format for all workshops has been similar. The invited participants, drawn primarily from the international space sector, provided viewpoints from government, industry and academia. Participants divided into working groups mandated to address specific topics. The outcome of their deliberations has been documented in workshop reports**, and are centred around a series of findings and recommendations. These workshops have proved themselves to be a valuable forum for reassessing approaches to international space cooperation. They have highlighted what we did right, and wrong, in the past and how we should proceed in the future. As was deduced from the second workshop, international cooperation is now a necessary strategy for achieving many of the goals currently under consideration by the space community.
This article provides a comprehensive assessment of the results of the three workshops held to date and provides some insight into the future direction for international cooperation in space.
* The authors are co-Chairs of the AIAA-IAC International Space Cooperation Workshops Committee, responsible for the follow-up of past workshops and planning for the next in the series.
** A limited number of the Workshop Reports are available from
the AIAA.
To request copies please contact:
Mireille
Gerard
AIAA
1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500
Reston, VA 22091, USA
Fax: (703) 264-7551 - E-mail:
custserv@aiaa.org
On 21 January 1985, while introducing a Senate Joint Resolution relating to NASA and Cooperative Mars Exploration, Senator Spark Matsunaga stated that:
'At a certain point, anything other than international exploration of the cosmos... will cease to make any sense at all...we must develop policies that respond to the unfolding realities of the Space Age, that move out to meet it on its own uniquely promising terms'.
In the years that followed there was a radical restructuring of the international political landscape, coupled with an explosion of technological capabilities around the world and a growing realisation of the benefits that space technology could provide. This created an environment that was conducive to enhanced international space cooperation.
With this situation in mind, the International Activities Committee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in the first half of 1991, decided to study the feasibility of organising a workshop on 'guidelines for international co-operation'. The outcome of this study was a go- ahead from the Committee at its January 1992 meeting, for the planning of such a workshop, to be held at the earliest in the September/October 1992 time frame. It was recognised, however, that a single three-day workshop would not be able to cover all aspects and areas of cooperation, or provide all 'solutions'. It was therefore also agreed that this workshop would be the first in a series that would have as its focus 'International Space Co- operation'. As a result of this decision, three workshops have been organised and carried out to date, and a fourth is in the early planning stage.
The first workshop took place in December 1992, in Hawaii, and was entitled Learning from the Past, Planning for the Future. Its primary objective was the development of recommendations, relating to co-operation, in five areas. These were Space Science, Space Exploration, Space Applications, Supporting Infrastructure, and Policies and Approaches (which dealt with cross cutting issues).
The second workshop held in December 1994, again in Hawaii, sought to build on the output of the 1992 workshop event by focusing on the implementation of diverse cooperative endeavours. Its overall theme was Getting Serious About How. Working group deliberations were narrowed somewhat in an attempt to determine how, in five specific areas, international cooperation projects might be developed, approved, funded and implemented. The areas, selected for their diversity in technical and political complexity, and varying time scales were, Global Space Systems Services, International Cooperation for Peacekeeping, Cooperative Human and Robotic Exploration of Space, International Cooperation in Space Transportation and Solar Power to Earth.
As planning for the third workshop began, it was decided that inkeeping with the international nature of the activity, international co-sponsorship and a non-USA venue would be sought. This resulted in the workshop being jointly sponsored and organised by the AIAA and the Confederation of European Aerospace Societies and being held in May 1996 at ESA's ESRIN facility in Italy. This time the theme was From Recommendations to Action, heavy emphasis being placed on the planning of specific, cooperative, near-term activities. Its working groups had mandates that required them to focus on specific international cooperation objectives and determine the political, managerial and financial processes by which they could best be accomplished.
As the first in a planned series, Workshop 1 was a learning experience for the IAC, not only in terms of the findings and recommendations developed by the individual working groups, but in terms of workshop organisation itself. The overall format of dividing participants into working groups to address specific topics, while providing plenary sessions at which everyone could observe and comment on each other's activities, worked well and has been adopted, with minor modifications, in subsequent workshops. The achievement of consensus within working groups, while desirable, is not a requirement, alternative viewpoints on a specific topic offering useful insights on the issues being addressed. Groups are not required to produce reports following a rigid common format, thereby increasing the potential for creative thought.
Attendance is by invitation only and has involved, in each case, around sixty experts drawn primarily from the space sector. Participants at each workshop have come from more than a dozen countries and have represented various elements of government, industry and academia.
The results of the workshop deliberations have been developed into a series of reports that have been disseminated worldwide. The 'target audience' has included government decision makers, senior industry and space-agency officials, and other individuals involved in the development of space policy and the implementation of space-related projects.
We will attempt below to summarise the results of each workshop and to discuss, where appropriate, the broader implications of the insights generated as regards the future direction(s) of international cooperation in space. In an article of this length, it is not possible to discuss all of the findings and recommendations developed by each working group. We have therefore selected just a few of the more important ones for review here. Readers are invited to obtain copies of the workshop reports in order to review the working-group deliberations in more detail in areas they find interesting.
The overall objective of the first workshop was to develop recommendations for future international space cooperation based, in part, on past experience. Five working groups were established representing major areas of space activity. The key 'findings' and 'recommendations' of each group are summarised below.
Space Science
The 'success story' of international cooperation in space is exemplified by space science.
Space scientists are working in virtually all countries of the world, regardless of the existence or size of space organisations in those nations, and have been involved in international cooperation at all levels. This fact, combined with a common set of goals and objectives, and the modular, incremental and continuing nature of projects, has led to space science becoming a model for international cooperation.
The working group felt, however, that impediments do exist to the success of future cooperation, particularly due to insufficient communication among potential partners concerning their respective project-selection processes. It was therefore recommended that:
National space agencies should share information with each other on their processes for selecting and funding prospective space-science projects.
The working group felt strongly that no single structure, governing international cooperation in this area, should be imposed. They urged minimum amount of bureaucracy and maximum amount of flexibility in approaches to space-science cooperation.
Space Applications
The opportunity to develop international cooperative ventures, in space applications of existing and evolving technology, has never been better.
There are a variety of space applications that, if developed cooperatively, could benefit all nations, both individually and collectively, particularly the less-developed countries.
Currently the most promising area for enhanced cooperation between governments is the monitoring of the Earth's environment.
The global nature of the environmental problem and the economic and social consequences have already received the attention of top-level government officials. However, the international mechanisms necessary to coordinate current satellite-systems utilisation and future systems design, and also the efficient gathering and distribution of data, are lacking.
The working group therefore recommended that:
To further promote cooperation in Earth environmental monitoring, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and its Affiliate Members should encourage the establishment of a public and private sector data-users coordinating mechanism.
Such a mechanism could be used to provide satellite operators with a unified set of data requirements, developed by users, to help in the design and operation of future Earth-observation systems.
A further important recommendation was that:
The appropriate existing international mechanisms should be used to explore the expansion of other space-application concepts that have high potential for success and contribute to other global needs.
Where such mechanisms do not exist, they should be established. Such concepts could include telecommunications, satellite navigation and disaster mitigation.
Space Exploration
It is unlikely that, in the near term, any government or group of governments will undertake large, costly, long-term space- exploration projects, involving a human return to the Moon or a human expedition to Mars.
This fact had been demonstrated by the failure of the US Space Exploration Initiative to garner the necessary political, budgetary and public support.
Furthermore, given budgetary pressures worldwide, it was considered unlikely that any such large-scale human exploration effort would be undertaken, in the future, on anything but an international basis. However, the world's space-faring nations had not identified a common goal for space exploration and had limited experience in joint efforts of this kind.
The group therefore recommended that:
Heads of space agencies of space-faring nations should establish a common international 'cooperative strategy' for space exploration, and continue the dialogue on potential robotic and human exploration projects.
The group was also of the opinion that when such projects are implemented in the future, they must be truly international with each partner being given the opportunity to contribute elements critical to mission success.
Space Infrastructure
The world's space infrastructure resources are not being optimally utilised.
Despite the abundance of satellite capabilities and supporting space infrastructure around the world, the group considered that there had been insufficient attempt to take advantage of this tremendous worldwide investment made by many nations, though there had been some notable exceptions such as the Halley's Comet spacecraft armada. Major future space missions, such as a return to the Moon by humans, might be enhanced or their cost reduced if there is international cooperation on the required infrastructure. There was no coordinated, multinational mechanism in place to ensure the optimum utilisation of the world's space infrastructure resources as a means of addressing current and future global challenges.
The group therefore recommended that:
Space-faring nations work to establish an international mechanism to review the current capabilities of existing and planned space systems.
The said nations should also:
Recommend ways to work together co-operatively, where possible, to establish and maintain the space infrastructure necessary to achieve mutual long-term mission objectives.
Policies and Approaches
The development and implementation of international space policy needs to be elevated to a higher level of political attention.
Cooperation in space science, space applications and space exploration can serve as a powerful counterbalance to the forces dividing the peoples of the world. A higher political visibility would enhance the significance of space in strengthening relationships among nations, as well as provide the political underpinning for a strong vibrant space agenda for global space projects in the twenty-first century.
The working group therefore recommended that:
The policy advisors and heads of space agencies of space- faring nations should stress the value of international space cooperation in support of domestic, economic and political objectives, to their heads of government.
They, the advisors and agency heads, should recommend that their government heads work towards lessening and eventually removing the most serious impediments to international space cooperation. In addition, a dialogue should be engaged towards establishing common policies and strategies for implementing cooperative objectives. These actions should be taken in the context of assessing policy in sensitive areas, including licensing, technology transfer, general commerce and trade issues, and adding international space cooperation as a specific focus to their agenda.
The group also considered that:
Continuing the 'business-as-usual' approach to international space cooperation will hinder the efficient attainment of space applications or exploration objectives, will cost individual nations more than necessary, and will delay achievement of essential missions of benefit to everyone.
'Business-as-usual' in international cooperation can be described as:
They, the working group, specifically recommended that:
Existing forums on international space cooperation, such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the Space Agency Forum, should explore how their roles could be enhanced to address international space-project selection and coordination deficiencies identified in the workshop report.
If existing forums were to prove to be inadequate for this purpose, the creation of a World Space Conference or an international inter-agency coordinating group, as an augmentation to existing forums, could be considered.
While the first workshop focused on broad approaches to international cooperation in space activities, the second focused on 'how' to implement certain cooperative endeavours. These were chosen because collectively they covered the spectrum of space cooperation in terms of political or technical complexity and time frame. The following paragraphs outline the key results of the deliberations of each of the working groups.
Global Space Systems Services
Today the need for global space systems services in telecommunications, remote sensing, and navigation is growing. These services are becoming accessible to all nations and are increasingly commercial and international.
The working group addressed the question of whether these services were being fully utilised in a global public-service context and, if not, how they could be used. It is evident these could, in addition to their private-sector service, provide a public service by supporting public safety, disaster warning and relief, peace-keeping, search and rescue, telemedicine and education services.
The working group recognised that many of these services have been made available, through private investment, for commercial purposes. However, these systems are not operating to their full commercial potential because of less than optimum orbital slots and frequency-spectra allocations. Working group members suggested that a trade-off was possible. For example, a condition for more optimum allocations (licensing criteria) could be a requirement to provide a 'public service'. The systems are designed, or could be designed, with minimal incremental cost, to provide public services in addition to their primary commercial service.
The working group concluded that professional organisations and public-service entities worldwide should collectively address the questions raised above with regard to determining the public- service needs. Thereafter, appropriate regulatory organisations should be enjoined to review and consider improved orbit and frequency allocations in return for enhanced public service.
International Cooperation for Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping operations around the globe, ranging from crisis prevention to crisis monitoring to crisis resolution, are increasingly international. Precedent-setting discussions conducted during the workshop indicate that opportunities may now exist for cooperatively using national space assets for multinational peacekeeping operations in ways that have never been done.
The subject of International Cooperation for Peacekeeping was the most politically complex of the projects reviewed at the Second AIAA Workshop. In their paper at the 46th International Astronautical Congress, the working group co-Chairs Messrs. Fuhrman and Wild stated that: 'the discussions that took place during this conference (second workshop) were precedent-setting. This conference was the first occasion for representatives from major space-faring nations to engage in an open and far-ranging dialogue on space cooperation for peacekeeping, covering the broad array of mutual assets that might be involved in cooperation and the breadth of issues that will have to be addressed'. Further, they wrote that they were 'surprised at the scope of issues on which the participants were able to agree'.
The group recommended that:
The principal providers of military, civil, and commercial space capabilities should establish an international forum to investigate the feasibility of improved use of current and future space systems for peacekeeping operations. The United States and Russia, as two of the key providers of existing space capabilities, should take the initiative to invite the other providers and other users to participate.
Cooperative Human and Robotic Exploration of Space
Due to the important role that international
cooperation must play in space exploration, and the results of
the Space Exploration Working Group during the first workshop,
the topic was again addressed during the second workshop. The
working group was tasked with reviewing and building on the
findings and recommendations from the first workshop.
The working group defined space exploration as human and robotic activity beyond Earth orbit (both low-Earth and geosynchronous), such as exploration of the Moon and Mars. The group concluded it was unlikely that a country or group of countries would, during the next ten to fifteen years, make a commitment to a single, long-term, large-scale space-exploration initiative. So, until such a commitment is possible, exploration is likely to focus on robotic missions rather than on human spaceflight. The working group considered that:
For the foreseeable future, large-scale, long-duration space exploration initiatives should be addressed as evolutionary in nature, consisting of a series of interlinked, but programmatically independent phases. Each phase must be justifiable on its own merits.
The group observed that since the maturing of the space programmes in Europe, Japan and elsewhere means that these countries are setting their own long-term space agendas and are not waiting for the space superpowers to take the lead, these agendas should be coordinated. However, the working group found that:
Coordination of national agendas does not require a single overarching rationale. Different countries will follow their own rationales for engaging in exploration missions.
In the longer term, human exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit probably will require an integrated, cooperative approach among several nations because of their magnitude. The group, recognising the International Space Station is precedent- setting, postulated that its success or failure will have significant repercussions for future international co-operation in space projects.
International Cooperation in Space Transportation
Participants in the AIAA/CEAS International Workshop on Space
Cooperation held at ESRIN, 26-31 May 1996
Availability of efficient, low-cost, reliable space transportation will play a pivotal role in the successful accomplishment of future space missions.
The working group concluded that truly low-cost space transportation will most likely only result from market need ('market pull'). It is unlikely that low-cost access to space will become available from the private or public sectors in the expectation that a market will develop ('market push'). As they stated in their report: 'such an investment by industry or government would require a leap of faith, and this is unlikely'.
The advent of Solar Power to Earth (see next section) would provide the required market pull since, to be economic, the construction of the necessary space infrastructure will require access to space at a cost of between $100 and $500 per pound. It is only at the low end of the range that Solar Power to Earth would be competitive with terrestrial energy sources for as long as they last. No longer considered so fanciful, space tourism may be another 'market pull' for low-cost space transportation.
The working group recognised that the current activity and focus of effort in space transportation is technology development. The group concluded that ways must be found to reduce technology-transfer barriers and encourage international cooperation in the development of space-transportation systems. Additionally, for success, future actions should involve cooperation at three levels, namely: industry -industry, industry-government and government-government. The problems associated with technology transfer, trade issues and national security exist, but these should not be considered as major inhibitors to progress in the single most important requirement to expand our space endeavours - low-cost access to space.
In summary, the working group found that in the current global fiscal environment, it is unlikely any single nation or regional organisation can afford to develop a commercially viable new space transportation system, be it expendable or re-useable; international cooperation on a large scale would be required to develop launchers that provide low-cost access to space.
Solar Power to Earth
Provision of clean, low-cost energy is an environmental, economic and international imperative.
An international body needs to be formed and tasked with responsibility of determining the feasibility of a space-based solution for the collection and distribution of solar power to Earth.
The modern concept for supplying Earth with abundant clean energy imported from space was first articulated in 1968. Since then, many studies and technology demonstrations have been conducted, principally in France, Russia and Japan, and the results have persuaded many that this concept is the enabler for a sustainable energy future.
Solar Power to Earth is becoming technically feasible, but there is a considerable spread in the projected global needs for energy. Some projections of the Earth's future energy sources indicate that only coal, solar (including wind) and nuclear sources will serve past the middle of the next century. Solar Power to Earth has the potential for solving our energy requirements. Perhaps the most significant inhibitor for Solar Power to Earth is the cost of access to space.
Solar Power to Earth advocates understand the technical, programmatic and social complexities associated with providing this source of energy, and consequently the group recommended:
A programme of demonstrations and pilot operations is the best way to advance understanding and acceptance. This is particularly true in the area of the safety of the wireless power transmission. Although studies uniformly find no significant biological effects, studies alone are insufficient. Demonstrations and extended pilot operations will be necessary to convince the public that space solar-power systems are both technically feasible and environmentally safe.
Governments and industry in all interested countries should support the development of programmes and fundamental technologies for space solar power to Earth.
For the third workshop, the working groups were presented with more narrowly defined mandates. Three of the four were charged with developing plans for specific projects, while the fourth dealt with broader issues of international space cooperation. In view of the approach, the working group outputs were not developed in the form of findings and recommendations per-se.
Predictably this workshop produced many practical approaches for the topics under discussion. The key results of the individual working groups are provided in the following paragraphs.
Criteria for International Space
Cooperation
Departing from normal practices of
reporting working-group deliberations, this group took a novel
approach by developing a 'Handbook for International Space
Cooperation'. It is expected that this handbook will be
extensively used for testing whether a planned project would lend
itself to, or benefit from, international cooperation.
Bilateral and multilateral initiatives have, at one time or another, been established in most space disciplines. However, whether international cooperation is appropriate for specific projects depends on many factors. The handbook describes criteria that can be used by governments and industry to evaluate the utility of international partnerships in a proposed programme. The application of these criteria provides a methodology for the systematic assessment of each potential partner's viewpoint with respect to domestic interests and material benefits of international implementation.
Two groups of criteria were developed to evaluate whether international cooperation should be pursued for cases of government-to- government cooperation, multi-government to multi- industry cooperation, and industry-to-industry cooperation. These are: Group I: National Interests
Group II: Material Benefits
The handbook provides a rationale for each of the criteria and describes how to apply it in an evaluation. By running two test cases, the working group confirmed the validity and applicability of the approach developed.
Using Space Assets for Disaster
Management
Space assets have historically been
developed for a select group of user communities, generally for
military or scientific applications. The 1990s have seen this
focus broaden to much larger communities, a trend that is likely
to increase as new commercial applications are brought into the
market.
At present, no mechanism exists to allow efficient and simple access to these resources by the disaster-management community, nor is there any clear articulation of the specific needs of the disaster-management community, which would enable the owners of space assets to develop resources that cater to these needs. The working group suggested that, to facilitate dialogue between users and service providers, an organisation should be established responsible for researching the disaster-management community's needs and applications of existing assets, and for suggesting new applications. Such an organisation would also allow economies of scale and rationalisation of current space- asset use. Furthermore, the working group postulated that if structured as a value-added service provider, such an organisation could even be a business, marketing services to govern-mental and non-governmental disaster managers throughout the world.
The working group's report provides a practical action plan to promote the use of space assets for disaster management. It includes the establishment of points-of-contact to promote awareness-related activities and help promote limited pilot projects for testing and learning purposes.
International Cooperation for Space Transportation
The Space Transportation Working Group continued the
work started at the second workshop. The group acknowledged the
work of the private sector in expanding available launch services
and achieving modest reductions in launch costs (or at least
holding them steady). However, it is apparent that to achieve an
order-of-magnitude reduction in launch costs, multi-national
government industry partnerships and large investments are
required.
It was concluded that up to 50% cost reductions are desired by traditional users, and that to cause a dramatic expansion of space activity cost reductions by a factor of ten or more are necessary. Technologies that permit an order-of-magnitude cost reduction are almost in hand, while some technologies that could result in two to three orders-of- magnitude reductions have already been identified.
The Space Transportation Working Group report established a sound rationale for international cooperation to aid in achieving the required cost reductions. Also, the group established the need and framework, as well as the pre-conditions, for such international cooperation. The most significant pre-conditions were identified as:
To achieve these pre-conditions and to align participants for a significant increase in international cooperation with the objective of achieving low-cost access to space, the involved governments must review the appropriate elements of their respective policies and take appropriate actions. The recommended actions are as follows:
It is clear that the opportunities for international cooperation in space transportation, especially with an initial priority of technology development for advanced or alternative technologies, are enormous and the payoff for all involved will be great.
International Space Station Utilisation
Strategy
The successful implementation of the
International Space Station, as the largest science and
technology project in history, will deeply influence all future
internationally cooperative projects. It is of crucial
importance, therefore, that the immense capabilities of the Space
Station be utilised to the fullest, not only by scientists, but
also engineers and entrepreneurs worldwide.
It is not far-fetched to consider the Station as the first concerted step towards making space a common working place and future home for many humans, leading even to colonisation within current lifetimes - of the Moon and Mars.
However, the range of opportunities offered by the Space Station must be broadcast much more widely to the individuals, institutions and private-sector organisations who could contribute to, and benefit from, the Station's unique environment of microgravity, extremely low vacuum conditions, and orbit permitting unequalled vision and measurements of the Earth, the Solar System and the cosmos.
To help ensure maximum use of the Space Station, the Space Station Utilisation Working Group recommended that the Space Station Partners establish a:
Also, the working group recommended that:
In this paper, we have endeavoured to provide an overview of the results of the three workshops held to date. Any single workshop cannot, however, be considered a success if its only result is the publication of a report or the identification of the need for a further workshop. (To quote from the first workshop report: 'The workshop was not an end in itself, merely the initiation of a process of new thinking concerning where we have been and where we are going on international space cooperation').
Fortunately, as regards the current series, this is not the case. Workshop activities have resulted in on-going initiatives being established in a number of areas relating to international space cooperation. To highlight three examples:
Immediately after the second workshop, the AIAA-IAC established a Follow-On Action Committee (FOAC) tasked with promotion and, where practical, the implementation of the output from the workshops and the planning of the next workshop in the series.
Planning for the fourth workshop is underway. It has been agreed that the venue will be Banff, Canada and that it will take place at the end of January 1998. Candidate topics for working- group deliberations are being reviewed both in terms of their individual importance and their potential contribution to the workshop series as a whole. It is hoped that a preliminary announcement can be circulated to potential participants in mid- 1997.
ESA Bulletin Nr. 89.