i. Establish a clear national space policy/strategy

Establish a clear national space policy/strategy

Key recommendations

➢ Make space policy/strategy and funding commitments publicly accessible. ➢ Link space to other national goals and priorities in strategy/policy documents. ➢ Produce regular updates to document developments and record lessons. ➢ Consider the potential for separate institutions, documents, and responsibilities for civil and military space activities.

Space programs signal national prestige and scientific and commercial significance, while projecting geopolitical and military power. There is a need for a clear national policy or strategy document to express space-related priorities and ambitions.315 This can go some way towards garnering domestic political support to fund space activity, while signaling intent to other countries. 316

Initially, Australia’s space program lacked defined rationales for space. With an interest in space spanning from the 1960s, Australia had the potential to become an early regional or global space leader. However, an inability to capture the rationales for space activity in official policy at the time saw a decline in space capabilities.317 The 2008 Senate Report “Lost in Space” revealed some of these shortcomings, and in 2011 the government published a formal space strategy and in 2013, its space policy.318 In order to become competitive in an increasingly busy domain, emerging spacefaring countries should establish core purposes and rationales for space activity, setting tangible near- and long-term ambitions. Some countries choose to make their national policy or strategy publicly accessible, which ensures transparency, particularly regarding public spending.319

A publicly available strategy/policy document with annually released funding objectives could help countries express achievable concrete goals. These goals do not necessarily have to be technology related. Important space objectives include the formation of regulatory frameworks and institutions, signing the relevant international agreements, and joining multilateral fora. It is advised that governments employ a “SMART” approach to objective setting, identifying goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound.320

315 Secure World Foundation (2017) Handbook for New Actors in Space Ed. Christopher D. Johnson . https://swfound.org/handbook/ 316 Ibid. 317 International Space University (2017). 318 Ibid. 319 Secure World Foundation (2017). 320 McNeil, R (2018) Five tips for effective objectives setting. UK Civil Service Blog. https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2018/04/26/fivetips-for-effective-objectives-setting/

Clearly expressing these objectives in strategy/policy documents available to the public ensures transparency, which is critical towards winning public support for space-related public spending. Most importantly, clear space objectives and funding commitments are likely to inspire the next generation of space scientists, innovators and policymakers.

In space strategy/policy documents it is important to link space to other national goals and priorities. Knittel Kommel et al. (2020) identify six categories of rationale for space program establishment: Economic, Socioeconomic, Coordination, Centralization, Geopolitical and Regulatory (see Chapter Four). Expressing the rationale for the space program and linking to these broader goals in other areas can help ensure that space remains prioritized in the long term, making it harder to justify short-term budget cuts.

To some degree, policy/strategy documents will need to remain flexible to adapt to a rapidly changing domain and integrate lessons learned. It is important that governments document learning throughout the process of space program establishment, while learning from international partners. Capturing national and international lessons and integrating them into updated space policy/strategy documents can help ensure the long-term success of programs.

Following the formation of the US Space Force, more emerging spacefaring countries are noted the importance of having a separate civil agency and military space command, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each. In countries such as South Korea, where national security is a key driver of space-based activity, divisions between civil and military space could help maintain balance. Countries with newly established space sectors may not require two separate civil and military space organizations from the outset. It is also worth noting that establishing a separate military space command sends a signal to the international community about a nation’s space ambitions, potentially generating tensions.