Scan of emerging issues : space in 2030.: PH4-161/2016E-PDF

“Space matters for nearly everything in our world. It is essential for communication, navigation, surveillance, research and exploration. It is also a fundamental domain for the emergence of a global digital economy, the Internet of Things, and cyber security. Space-based technologies are required for any transaction in societies that uses digital technology. With such a cross-cutting presence, space’s future will matter for many aspects of Canadian society and, as a result, Canadian policy. Access to space has traditionally been open to a small number of major countries who were able to cooperate with informal agreements. Now, access to space is open to a large number of smaller countries and private actors. This is especially true for low earth orbit, the area of space where most satellites and manned-space missions operate. Yet low earth orbit has a finite amount of ‘territory’: only a certain amount of satellites can be in orbit before the risk of collision and debris potentially prohibits more satellites from going up. The result is a fast-growing number of state and non-state actors competing for a limited amount of room with little formal regulation and control. This scan explores four inter-related insights about the future of space. Taken together, these insights could help in developing forward-looking policy to address this increasingly complex and important domain”--p. 1.

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