National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: Summary
Suggested Citation:"1 Background." National Research Council. 2009. Approaches to Future Space Cooperation and Competition in a Globalizing World: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12694.
×
Page 6

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

1 Background The Workshop on U.S. Civil Space Policy was developed based on an idea proposed by Space Studies Board (SSB) chair Charles Kennel that was refined during discussions at the SSB Executive Committee meeting in August 2008. The workshop theme recognizes that, with the end of the Cold War, space and Earth science research and space exploration are no longer dominated by competition between two superpowers. Furthermore, numerous countries and regions now have very active space programs, and that number is increasing. Maturing capabilities worldwide have created a plethora of potential partners for cooperative space endeavors, while at the same time heightening competitiveness in the international space arena. While international cooperation can make a particular program more affordable to an individual nation, the overall cost of the initiative tends to increase, as does the overall management complexity. Cooperation and coordination1 tap into an extended base of scientific and technological expertise and can add robustness and redundancy through the use of multiple systems (e.g., launchers, launch facilities, ground networks, in-orbit transportation, and so on). They can also serve to enhance the political legitimacy of an initiative. Workshop planners felt that all these aspects needed to be taken into consideration in assessing the effectiveness of specific past and present cooperation or coordination mechanisms and in seeking to determine how best to proceed in the future, recognizing that the world is becoming more globalized. International cooperation and coordination are topics that have been addressed in numerous SSB workshops and study committees over the past two decades. They have occurred extensively in space science, Earth science research and applications from space, human spaceflight and microgravity science, and, to a lesser extent, satellite telecommunications, satellite navigation, and launchers. Currently, most space-faring nations have space-related aspirations that exceed the resources available to them individually. Furthermore, additional countries are working to enter the field. Thus, it was considered to be an appropriate time to review the international cooperation and coordination mechanisms that have or have not worked in the past to identify the most effective approaches to such cooperation and coordination in the future. Such a review should include how best to involve nations that have new and emerging space capabilities. Lessons to be found in the competitive space arena might also have relevance to developing future modes of cooperation. Among the factors to emphasize in identifying effective approaches is that they maximize the use of available resources, minimize duplication of effort, and make optimum use of the broad and ever-increasing base of scientific and technical talent that exists internationally. 1 International cooperation and coordination on both a bilateral and multilateral basis have played a significant role in civil space activities since the beginning of the space age. Generally speaking, cooperation involves two or more countries working together, each contributing to the execution of a single mission. Coordination involves two or more countries that keep each other apprised of their activities in order to minimize duplication of effort and to obtain the maximum return through complementary activities. 6

Next: 2 Opening Remarks »
Approaches to Future Space Cooperation and Competition in a Globalizing World: Summary of a Workshop Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $29.00 Buy Ebook | $23.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Numerous countries and regions now have very active space programs, and the number is increasing. These maturing capabilities around the world create a plethora of potential partners for cooperative space endeavors, while at the same time heightening competitiveness in the international space arena.

This book summarizes a public workshop held in November 2008 for the purpose of reviewing past and present cooperation, coordination, and competition mechanisms for space and Earth science research and space exploration; identifying significant lessons learned; and discussing how those lessons could best be applied in the future, particularly in the areas of cooperation and collaboration.

Presentations and initial discussion focused on past and present experiences in international cooperation and competition to identify "lessons learned." Those lessons learned were then used as the starting point for subsequent discussions on the most effective ways for structuring future cooperation or coordination in space and Earth science research and space exploration. The goal of the workshop was not to develop a specific model for future cooperation or coordination, but rather to explore the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches and stimulate further deliberation on this important topic.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!