AstropoliticsPub Date : 2023-10-30DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2023.2274922
Kathleen Sullivan, Svetla Ben-Itzhak
{"title":"Securing the Space Domain with Active Orbital Debris Removal: Lessons from Europe and Japan Towards a U.S. Strategy","authors":"Kathleen Sullivan, Svetla Ben-Itzhak","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2023.2274922","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2023.2274922","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"152 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136104843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AstropoliticsPub Date : 2023-10-27DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2023.2274918
Dini Susanti, Astri Rafikasari
{"title":"Indonesian Spaceport Development: Defense and Security Perspectives","authors":"Dini Susanti, Astri Rafikasari","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2023.2274918","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2023.2274918","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTThis article discusses the development of an Indonesian spaceport on Biak Island from defense and security perspectives. Biak Island has a competitive geographic advantage, being close to the equator, and serving as an optimal launch site for spacecraft heading to Geostationary Earth Orbit. Additionally, Biak Island is in the eastern region, directly facing the Pacific Ocean. It serves as a gateway, facilitating direct interaction with neighboring states, giving it strategic value for national sovereignty. Using concepts of national defense and security, and the spaceport as a strategic national area, primary and secondary data related to the spaceport are discussed using qualitative methods. The development of the Indonesian spaceport on Biak Island from the perspectives of security and defense are expected to be an infrastructure that will support strategic defense, contributing to the security defense of the eastern Indonesian border region and upholding the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia. Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Dachyar, M., and Purnomo, H. “Spaceport Site Selection with Analytical Hierarchy Process Decision Making”, Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 11, no. 10 (2018), 1–8.2 Rafikasari, A. Prospek Kerja Sama Keantariksaan ASEAN untuk Mendukung Diplomasi Pertahanan Indonesia dalam Konteks Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). (Universitas Pertahanan Indonesia, 2021).3 Beevor, A. The Second World War. (New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2012).4 Suara Papua. (2019). Jejak Perang Dunia II “Biak Battle”, https://suarapapua.com/2019/07/04/jejak-perang-dunia-ii-biak-battle/ (accessed September 7, 2021).5 Smith, R. R. Triumph in the Philippines: The War in the Pacific. (Washington D.C: University Press of The Pacific, 2005).6 Creswell, J. W., and Creswell, J. D. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Fifth ed. (Los Angeles: SAGE, 2018).7 Cambridge University Press. (2021). Defense, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/defense?q=Defense (accessed September 6, 2021)8 Yasuo, O., Ohkami, Y., Kohtake, N., & Sakurai., T. (2012). Dual-Use Concept on Civil and Defense Uses of Outer Space. Trans JSASS Aerospace Tech Japan, 10.9 Abdullah, Z., Camprubi, M. Z., Ghassemieh, S., Ghosh, A., Hanuschak, G. Z., Hinds, E., & …. Zdanovich, O. (2008). Spaceport: The Necessary Infrastructure for Private Spaceflight. Retrieved from http://commercialspace.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/87095854/Abdullah%20et.%20al.%202011.pdf10 Xinhua, Chen. (2014).China Launch Training Center, Site Selection and Constructions of Launch Site.11 Demiralay, E., Engin, H., and Paksoy, T. Spaceport Selection Using a Novel Hybrid Pythagorean Fuzzy AHP &TOPSIS Based Methodology: A Case Study of Turkey. Journal of Aeronautics and Space Technology, 15 no. 1 (2022).12 Nolek, D., and Finger, G. (2009). Attracting -New Space- to you Spaceport. American Institute o","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"111 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136262972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AstropoliticsPub Date : 2023-10-25DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2023.2274116
Süleyman Oktar
{"title":"Islam and Space Exploration","authors":"Süleyman Oktar","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2023.2274116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2023.2274116","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTToday, the space race has resumed where it left off in the 1970s. The first race threatened Christianity. This time the race threatens Islam. The potential settlement of planets, like in the atmosphere of Venus where the “sun rises from the west” and on Mars, threatens Islam. Anti-religious forces may use space exploration and future human settlement off-Earth to undermine Islamic doctrines. For these reasons, Muslims need to settle on other planets and create an artificial Islamic habitat. The widespread opinion among Muslims is that the world is unique and that there is no concrete biology outside the world. It is possible to encounter “intelligent beings” on other planets, and anti-religious forces may use these discoveries to undermine Islamic teaching. If Islam is to thrive in the context of humans as a spacefaring species, traditional Islamic teaching needs to be moderated and be ready for new situations that differ from planet Earth. Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 T. Devezas, F.C.L. de Melo, M.L. Gregori, M.C.V. Salgado, J.R. Ribeiro, and C.B. Devezas, “The struggle for space: Past and future of the space race,” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 79(5), 963–985 (2012).2 V. Smolkin-Rothrock, “A Sacred Space Is Never Empty”: Soviet Atheism, 1954–1971, PhD Thesis, UC Berkeley, 2010.3 G.N. Jones, The Space Crusades: Carl McIntire and the Religious Cold War 1950–1975, Master’s Thesis, Texas A&M University, 2021.4 D. Weibel, “Space exploration as religious experience,” The Space Review, (2017).5 A. Dallal, Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History (Yale University Press, New Haven, 2010).6 S.F. Starr, Lost Enlightenment (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2013).7 G. Saliba, Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance (MIT Press, Cambridge, 2007).8 S. Turan, Fuat Sezgin Ile Bilim Tarihi Sohbetleri (Pınar Yayınları, Istanbul, 2019).9 S. Nursi, Muhakemat (Risale Press, Manila, 2014).10 Ibid.11 E. Chaney, Religion and the Rise and Fall of Islamic Science (Harvard University, 2016).12 A. Nedvi, Asr-ı Saadet (Şamil Yayınevi, Istanbul, Türkiye, 1985).13 T. Hamid, Report of Zakri Task Force on Science at Universities of the Muslim World (The Muslim World Science Initiative, London and Islamabad, 2015).14 J. Al-Khalili, “Science in the Muslim world,” Physics World 23(04), 22 (2010).15 N. Guessoum, and A. Osama, “Institutions: Revive universities of the Muslim world,” Nature News 526(7575), 634 (2015).16 S. Oktar, “Islam and Science: Integration of Religion and Science to Build a Second Islamic Golden Age,” Katre Uluslararası İnsan Araştırmaları Dergisi (12), 3–25 (2021).17 V.A. Ramey, “Secular stagnation or technological lull?,” Journal of Policy Modeling 42(4), 767–777 (2020).18 T. Cowen, and B. Southwood, “Is the rate of scientific progress slowing down?,” GMU Working Paper in Economics 21(13), (2019).19 N. Bloom, C.I. Jones, J. Van Reenen, and M. Webb, “","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"45 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135166598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Liability Risk Sharing Framework for Commercial Launch Industry in India","authors":"Kunwar Surya Pratap, Biswanath Gupta, Lavanya Pathak","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2023.2195103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2023.2195103","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT There is an appreciable body of research addressing the liability issues in space launch activities. Yet, the accommodation of these principles into the legal frameworks governing commercial space launch industry in developing states, like India, is not adequately addressed. Despite being a spacefaring state since 1963, India’s commercial launching industry is in its nascent stage primarily due to statutory restrictions. Although the Indian government has allowed private participation, the liability sharing framework under the proposed laws, as reflected from drafts, is not fit to accommodate non-governmental launchings. To mend this, the paper posits that India devise a liability risk sharing framework to ensure legal certainty with a balance between industrial goals and exchequer’s interests. As such, this paper considers, comparatively and analytically, a tailored regulatory environment for first, second, and third-party liabilities in India along with damage assessment standards and insurance requirements.","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"46 1","pages":"63 - 92"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77241784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AstropoliticsPub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2023.2195101
Anne-Sophie Martin
{"title":"Outer Space, the Final Frontier of Cyberspace: Regulating Cybersecurity Issues in Two Interwoven Domains","authors":"Anne-Sophie Martin","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2023.2195101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2023.2195101","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In the last decades, space activities have become more automated and digitized due to the technological development. As such, it is crucial to consider cyberspace and its risks to guarantee safety, security, and long-term sustainability of space activities, as well as to ensure that activities in outer space are carried out for the benefit of humankind. The paper assumes that both areas are global commons and numerous interactions exist between them, notably in terms of cybersecurity. Indeed, there is an increasing risk of attack against satellites, including interferences, jamming, and hacking, which reveals that the security aspects of satellite systems and data transmission cannot be overlooked, and the risk of cyberwarfare is real. Cybersecurity regulations at international, regional, and national levels to determine the potential elements applicable to space activities are examined in this paper. The paper stresses the need to bring together actors involved in the domain of cyber and in space activities with the aim to implement a structured, appropriated, and responsive regulatory framework to cyberthreats by considering the interdependence between these two areas. In this regard, it is argued that a compartmentalized approach with relation to cyber and outer space should be avoided.","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"30 1","pages":"1 - 22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77120634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AstropoliticsPub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2023.2196017
Johan Eriksson, Lindy Newlove-Eriksson
{"title":"Outsourcing the American Space Dream: SpaceX and the Race to the Stars","authors":"Johan Eriksson, Lindy Newlove-Eriksson","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2023.2196017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2023.2196017","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Whereas the rise of private space entrepreneurship is indisputable, we contend that contrary to the “NewSpace” narrative, the development of privately owned and operated human spacefaring does not dispel or fundamentally alter the American space dream, but rather implies continuity of the narrative of America as the dominant global space power, specifically regarding a return to the Moon and with the explicit aim of colonizing Mars. Herein, we analyze the continuity of the American space dream and how it is expressed by public and private space actors, as well as being supported by popular culture, entertainment, and an active space enthusiast community. We maintain that the continuity of the American space dream as a unifying national narrative is facilitated by how private spacefaring is dependent on the U.S. Government’s emphasis on the pivotal role of private space industry for space exploration. This dependent relationship provides incentives for private space entrepreneurs to share and leverage the established American space dream. The continuity of the American space dream is achieved through a prevailing, yet reconfigured, government-industrial complex.","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"186 1","pages":"46 - 62"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77595176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AstropoliticsPub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2023.2195102
Marek Štoudek
{"title":"Emerging European Space Agencies in the Framework of Geopolitics of Outer Space","authors":"Marek Štoudek","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2023.2195102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2023.2195102","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The increasing number of national space agencies, which is particularly visible in the last decade, is an important recent trend in space activities. Although one of the most frequently mentioned concepts in contemporary space activities is New Space, which emphasizes new technologies, transformation of strategic planning, and the commercial sphere, the original state structures associated with state actors, national space agencies or other governmental entities focused on space, remain indispensable elements for implementing space activities. The European cases presented in this study- Luxembourg, Portugal, and Greece- demonstrate the importance of national agencies in areas of implementing national space strategy, supporting the space sector, and representing national and international interests. The cases of Luxembourg and Portugal highlight the use the New Space transformation to prioritize the economic sphere complemented by diplomatic, scientific, and technological pursuits. Their approach is based on finding and exploiting a void in the space market and leveraging historically developed capacities in the field. In contrast, unsuccessful national space agencies can be observed in the same group of cases, Greece being the example. By comparing differences between successful and unsuccessful national space agencies, key insights into the effectiveness of such agencies are identified and discussed.","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"33 1","pages":"23 - 45"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90646840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AstropoliticsPub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2023.2195104
W. Cobb
{"title":"Comparative Book Review: Bleddyn E. Bowen, Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space (London: Hurst and Company, 2022) and Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2022).","authors":"W. Cobb","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2023.2195104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2023.2195104","url":null,"abstract":"While analysis of space and space policy in relation to national security and human spaceflight remains a niche academic area, there have still been a growing number of books and articles to explore and detail it. It is this increased pace of activity that has led to a space domain that is contested, competitive, and congested leading to more opportunities for confrontations and even conflict. For the most part, if these examinations are not laudatory, they are at least encouraging in terms of the types of activities they have advocated including not only those associated with national security and defense, but the mining and exploitation of space-based resources and even the colonization of outer space and other planetary bodies. This should not be all that surprising. Since the opening of the space age, popular culture has portrayed space as a place with unlimited opportunities for discovery and adventure. This early fascination with space’s potential has today morphed into billionaire space entrepreneurs extolling the potential and possibility of moving humans to outer space and to Mars. But, the extension of such activities, as on Earth, has not come without criticism. The increased pace of activity in space has come to a pinnacle in recent years with the success of commercial space companies, like SpaceX, the privatization of space activities more generally, the creation of the U.S. Space Force, new plans in China and Russia for human spaceflight to the Moon, and a return to the Moon for the United States and its partners in the Artemis program. At the same time, space also comes with a darker side, one that is more visible than its proponents would like to think regarding conflict in space, weaponization there, and the possible extension of human driven exploitation in that domain. While concerns over an outbreak of kinetic conflict in the space domain that threatens to pollute near Earth orbits and make operations in space difficult tend to be the foremost of those, two new books also illustrate the dangerous underpinnings of space exploration and exploitation: Bleddyn Bowen’s Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space, and Mary-Jane Rubenstein’s Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race. These two books come at the topic of space from quite different directions that seemingly have little in common. Rubenstein’s shorter, eminently readable exploration delves into historical and religious themes throughout history, highlighting their role in colonial and imperial actions that today also serve to justify the actions of billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in space. Bowen, on the other hand, offers a detailed exploration of the politics and physics of space warfare today. Despite Bowen’s play on religious rhetoric with the phrase “original sin,” religion is left much to the side whereas it is the central focus for Rubenstein. However, the argument these two authors put forth is much the same; that is, sp","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"26 1","pages":"93 - 100"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89697005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AstropoliticsPub Date : 2022-09-02DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2022.2144241
Athar ud din
{"title":"The Artemis Accords: The End of Multilateralism in the Management of Outer Space?","authors":"Athar ud din","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2022.2144241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2022.2144241","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Artemis Accords, an initiative by the United States, establishes guiding principles relating to the exploration and use of the Moon and other celestial bodies. By using the example of interpretational issues pertaining to property and possessory rights in outer space, this paper demonstrates that the Artemis Accords have effectively put in place an alternate framework relating to the law of outer space. The development does not bode well for the prospects of a multilateral approach towards addressing global issues, especially for a global commons like outer space. Further, important spacefaring states have expressed concerns regarding the Artemis Accords, which risk establishing a fragmented approach toward exploration and use of outer space.","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"5 1","pages":"135 - 150"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72858957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AstropoliticsPub Date : 2022-09-02DOI: 10.1080/14777622.2022.2146495
Darija Maraš, Miloš Dangubić
{"title":"Cooperation Between Government Agencies and Private Companies in Space: The Case of the United States","authors":"Darija Maraš, Miloš Dangubić","doi":"10.1080/14777622.2022.2146495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14777622.2022.2146495","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Formerly a solely government sphere, space is now an attractive frontier for private companies. As research and production costs were unreachable for private actors in the past, only government agencies such as NASA, could afford the development of their space program, with participation from private companies through contracting for design and manufacturing. Today, companies, such as Blue Origin and SpaceX are privately developing different aspects of the space industry and making the topic of cooperation between government agencies and private companies for commercial services relevant. Despite the new programs that private companies are bringing to life, such as space tourism and space launch, a major part of their activity is related to cooperation with NASA. The structure of this article consists of several parts, beginning with a brief overview of the types of space companies. This is followed by a history of private space companies and the economic aspect of public-private cooperation, and finally the military-diplomatic effects of this cooperation. After decades of coexisting and collaborating, the new model whereby NASA only places orders and private companies provide commercial services is the one that is the most cost-effective.","PeriodicalId":35153,"journal":{"name":"Astropolitics","volume":"63 1","pages":"226 - 237"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90124153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}