Facilitating information sharing across the international space community

An increasing number of countries and organizations have realized the advantages of space-based assets. A handful of countries can launch their own unmanned orbital missions, while others have relied on partnerships with other countries to launch their payloads. In addition, private companies are working to provide the public and private sectors with additional spacelift capacity. Increasing space activities, however, have also increased both the number of operational satellites and the amount of space debris. The latter, in particular, has renewed interest among such entities as the U.S. military and private spaceflight companies in reducing future debris populations using political and technical means. But doing this effectively requires these diverse space organizations to share information that has traditionally been treated as proprietary or sensitive. This report examines some of the behavioral and psychological barriers that may prevent diverse entities from sharing data and processes more freely and suggests ways the U.S. Air Force might be able to overcome them to encourage the information sharing that will help the community as a whole address the growing space congestion problem.