Preparations are now well underway for the Adelaide Law School contribution to the Space Security Index 2016, a key document used by governments and policy makers worldwide in understanding the space domain. The Space Security Index is an annual assessment of space security, which seeks to provide a policy-neutral fact base of trends and developments in civil and military space activities. The research for the report is undertaken by undergraduate and postgraduate students at McGill University’s Institute of Air and Space Law (Canada), George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute (US) and University of Adelaide through RUMLAE. Space Security 2016 will be published in October 2016, identifying developments and events in civil, military and commercial space during the period January to December 2015, as well as providing a general overview of the background and context to these developments and events.

RUMLAE was invited to participate in this project, managed by Project Ploughshares, a non-governmental organization based in Canada, the publisher of the Report. This represents the first time an invitation to participate in the project has been extended to a contributor outside of North America.

The project team consists of law students William Gloster, Tom Skevington, April Bradey, Soraya Pradhan and Joel Lisk, working under the supervision of Professor Melissa de Zwart and Dr Dale Stephens. Adelaide students will be working closely with the project leader based in Waterloo, Canada, and the students at the other institutions. Key topics being addressed by the Adelaide team include space-based global utilities (such as GPS), priorities and funding for civil space programs, International cooperation in space growth in commercial space, public-private collaboration and military space systems.

The research will be presented to a group of experts at a conference in May 2016 in Montreal.

RUMLAE is very proud to be a part of this international collaboration which provides a very tangible contribution to understanding a domain that is becoming an increasingly vital aspect of the everyday lives of a large proportion of the world’s population.

Standing (l-r): A/Prof Dale Stephens (Director RUMLAE), Joel Lisk, William Gloster, Prof Melissa de Zwart (Deputy Director RUMLAE); sitting : Tom Skevington, April Bradey, Soraya Pradhan.