International Initiatives to Preserve the Outer Space Environment (Update) Amber Charlesworth Office of Space & Advanced Technology United States Department of State

TCBMs We are working closely with the international community to ensure the long-term sustainability of space through transparency and confidence-building measures (TCBMs). The United States believes TCBMs should be pragmatic, voluntary, near-term actions that increase trust and prevent misperceptions and miscalculations, between nations. 

Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Scientific and Technical Subcommittee Initiative proposed by France in UNCOPUOS Item adopted in 2009 for work in STSC Close coordination with commercial satellite operators, standards organizations, and key members of the Committee Working group established in 2010 under leadership of Peter Martinez (South Africa) Four expert working groups Sustainable space utilization supporting sustainable development on Earth Space debris, space operations and tools to support collaborative space situational awareness Space weather Regulatory regimes and guidance for actors in the space arena

Expert Working Groups Expert Working Groups met in February Discussion of draft, voluntary guidelines [paraphrased list]: 1. Promote international cooperation to enhance sustainability 2. Share information and expertise with other States 3. Adopt procedures to share information 4. Regulatory outreach and education 5. Encourage non-governmental involvement in regulatory development 6. Consider Long Term Sustainability when developing regulations 7. Address debris mitigation and use UN debris guidelines in regulations 8. Promote communication among domestic organizations, regulators The next meeting is in June 2013 on the margins of UN COPUOS

LTS Next Steps All expert groups candidate guidelines compiled and available on the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/oosa/en/COPUOS/2013/index.html A/AC.105/1041: Compilation of proposed draft guidelines of expert groups A to D of the Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities Request industry comments to John Sloan – John.Sloan@FAA.gov by May 21.

Code of Conduct Another TCBM effort underway is the European Union’s draft International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities The stated purpose of the draft Code is to “enhance the security, safety, and sustainability of all outer space activities,” which is fundamentally in the interests of all nations and space actors.

Code of Conduct (Cont.) A Code of Conduct would: help reduce the risk of misunderstandings, miscalculations, and misperceptions by committing States to share space policies, strategies, and procedures; increase the transparency of operations in space to reduce the danger of collisions and the hazards of debris-generating events; and establish a set of voluntary transparency and confidence-building measures and would also build upon existing instruments and measures relating to conduct in the use of outer space. On June 5, 2012, the EU held a kick-off meeting in Vienna, Austria and released a new, improved draft of the Code. Later this week, in Kyiv, Ukraine, the European Union’s first official multilateral experts meeting on the Code, labeled the "Open-Ended Consultations," will be held. These consultations, to which all UN member states will be invited, are not formal negotiations, but will provide states with an opportunity to address all elements of the draft Code.