ACES Worldwide Program Development Strategy
ACES Worldwide was established to help strengthen existing international space cooperation and alliances, as well as to assist with resolving key pending space policy and regulatory issues. To help achieve these goals, ACES Worldwide has established a global advisory committee engaging prominent space leaders (primarily drawn from the global space policy and regulatory fields). Another key step ACES Worldwide is undertaking is to sponsor a series of international Roundtable discussions addressing critical issues in the space policy field. These Roundtable discussions are generating White Papers that set forth innovative solutions to help facilitate new frameworks for collaborative action in various areas of concern. ACES Worldwide is also seeking to develop new “Compact Agreements” to establish new commitments to use space systems to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
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ACES Worldwide’s overall goal is to enable a multidisciplinary alliance of diverse educational, regulatory, technological, civil and entrepreneurial organizations in the fields of space applications, sciences and exploration to help address key space policy, legal, and regulatory issues of global concern. This includes the use of space to sustain life and the environment on planet Earth as well as in the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.
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ACES Worldwide’s top areas of concern include: orbital space debris; cosmic hazards and planetary defense; space safety; the long-term sustainability of space and the use of space systems to sustain human enterprise; space education and training; and capacity-building in space systems around the world.
Global Collaboration to Address
1.- Progress on Space Policy and Regulatory Issues: A principal objective for ACES Worldwide is to undertake (with collaborative partners) an analysis of urgent space policy and regulatory issues - both to highlight current concerns and to help explore new pathways forward. The goal is to find innovative solutions that can obtain broad international agreement and support. ACES Worldwide seeks to achieve these objectives through:
(a) its Alliance Members;
(b) its Global Advisory Committee;
(c) its global Roundtable Discussions;
(d) its cooperatively developed Action Agenda Papers and;
(e) its “Compact Agreements” initiative for Space & Sustainability
Collectively, these efforts will contribute toward achieving the overarching goal of enhancing global collaboration in space enterprise.
2.- UNOOSA/COPUOS: One of the key goals of ACES Worldwide is to support efforts of the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to advance space training, education and public outreach and to use space systems to meet the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Initial steps will include ongoing liaisons with officials of UNOOSA and U.N. COPUOS to explore how ACES Worldwide’s efforts could support U.N. efforts in these areas.
3.- Programs and Collaboration relating to Cosmic Hazards and Planetary Defense: ACES Worldwide will enable a series of global Roundtable Discussions on key issues of global concern in the space policy and regulatory arena. These international discussions will lead to Action Agenda Papers outlining possible solutions in areas of concern, and will be composed in collaboration with other space-related organizations.
One of these initial papers will explore a revised and improved approach by space agencies to enhance cosmic threat detection and global threat responsiveness programs. This proposed new approach would help address cosmic hazards in more interdisciplinary and strategic ways, which ultimately could help counter solar storms and CMEs, potentially hazardous asteroids, comets and centaurs, and other cosmic threats through more globally coordinated efforts.
4.- Space Safety Concerns: Space Traffic Management and Orbital Space Debris: Global roundtable discussions in this area might lead to one or more White Papers that could enable the preparation of studies and databases to help track new developments in the global space regulatory environment.
The goal is to find new and better approaches to enhance active space debris removal and mitigation, on-orbit servicing, and space traffic management.
5.- Space and Sustainability: ACES Worldwide will work to advance the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals through ‘Compact Agreements’ in cooperation with the U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs and COPUOS. It will also explore potential joint programs with Alliance Partners, the Secure World Foundation, academic institutions, relevant non-governmental organizations, commercial space companies, and insurance organizations in order to prepare Action Agenda Papers on relevant new initiatives.
Public Outreach
This will include providing information on space enterprise via the Internet, including the presentation of “Action Agenda Papers” and editorials. The goal is to inform the public regarding key space policy and regulatory issues, tp advance new ideas to solve challenging problems, and to encourage further academic research in relevant areas.
Collaborative Efforts
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ACES Worldwide has begun to initiate active partnerships to help advance collaboration in space enterprise. These initial partnership efforts include alliances with Space Renaissance International (SRI), the Space 3.0 Foundation, the Alternative Planetary Futures Institute, the Mars-Moon Astronautics Academy and Research Science (MMAARS), the Global VSAT Forum, Space and Satellite Professionals International, Space Base New Zealand, For All Moonkind, and Free AstroScience. Efforts are also underway to establish collaborative agreements with the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS), the International Space University (ISU), the Secure World Foundation (SWF), the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), and other leading space organizations.
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A geographically and culturally diverse ACES Worldwide Global Advisory Committee has also been established. Its participants are listed on the “Organization” section of the ACES Worldwide website. (https://acesworldwide.org).
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Efforts are currently underway to establish a partnership agreement with UNOOSA, which would address space safety and sustainability issues, as well as space education, training and capacity-building (with a possible focus on “sister space country partnerships”).
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Press releases on ACES Worldwide’s programmatic activities are being issued through LinkedIn and informative communiques to partner organizations.
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ACES Worldwide intends to pursue membership in the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
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Eventually, ACES Worldwide will seek “Permanent Observer” status with the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS)​
ACES Worldwide Implementation
To facilitate ACES Worldwide’s activities, the Alliance has created an interactive website, recruited a Global Advisory Committee of eminent space leaders from around the world, established a Board of Directors, and has begun to recruit volunteers to help implement its programs. Anyone who wishes to assist ACES Worldwide in achieving its mission should indicate their interest through the ACES Worldwide’s website (https://acesworldwide.org/contact), or through via LinkedIn.