SAMENA Telecommunications Council, at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) headquarter, led a dialogue last week on space sustainability, organized by the World Space Sustainability Association (WSSA). Held as Space Sustainability Leaders Forum, the roundtable discussion led by SAMENA Council focused on Accelerating Global Coordination on Space Sustainability; setting Priorities for Collaboration and Progress for the Space Ecosystem; and identifying Opportunities and Imperatives for Space Stakeholders.
The space-sustainability dialogue held at the MBRSC headquarter aligned well with new expectations set forth by the United Nations’ recently adopted Pact for the Future, with sustainable development, among other focus areas, at its heart. international peace and security; science and technology; youth and future generations and transforming global governance. SAMENA Council highlighted that with rapid advancements, emerging commercial interests, and increasing global recognition of space as an essential domain for security, economic growth, and sustainability, a set of differing, and, at times, conflicting priorities have emerged. Nonetheless, these differing priorities give room to a diverse set of opportunities as well, especially for innovation and new collaborations in digital economy and space economy. Such opportunities need to be explored and for making collective progress in the complex space landscape.
SAMENA Council, with its membership comprising both Terrestrial and Space segments, observes that space economy, driven by both space-exploration initiatives, cost-effective satellite production and launching, and constellation-based business models, will face a dramatic increase in the next decade. during this time frame, several critical challenges will surface, ranging from signal interference to orbital slot allocations; fuel and light pollution to debris management; and from solar flares to in-space collisions.
“One of the key areas to address within the larger space sustainability area, is collaboration among all stakeholders and to streamline better international governance approaches to ensure space and human activities in space remain sustainable. This is one of the reasons why this dialogue organized by WSSA and hosted by MBRSC was very important. A diverse group of space-sector stakeholders not only delved into space sustainability issues of importance specifically to space ecosystem players, but also issues and matters pertaining to WRC-27, such as those relating to spectrum, fixed-satellite and broadcasting-satellites, space-to-Earth and Earth-to-space communication”, stated Bocar BA, CEO & Board Member of SAMENA Council, who steered the discussions at the WSSA Forum.
For WRC-27, new studies for mobile in the bands 4400-4800 MHz; 7125-8400 MHz and 14.8-15.35 GHz, among other areas, are deemed important agenda items. The Industry, over the next five years, requires more harmonized capacity for mobile services and the identification of these bands for International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT) by WRC-27 would provide an important resource for mobile connectivity and service evolution. Having timely discussions relating to predictable access to spectrum, such as during the WSSA Forum led by SAMENA Council, is expected to help Operators and Technology Providers the attain visibility and facilitate informed decision-making regarding investment, spectrum utilization, digital experience, and innovation in digital services and applications.
“Emerging Space Economy has intricate dimensions, and it is imperative to account for them. At the WSSA's Space Sustainability Leaders Forum 2024, held at the MBRSC HQ, it was a pleasure to moderate the discussion, centered on understanding rapid advancements, emerging commercial interests, and increasing global recognition of space as an essential domain for security, economic growth, terrestrial and space sector collaboration, and sustainability, at large”, added BA.