| |  Space & Advanced Technology
The Space and Advanced Technology (SAT) Staff handles international space issues and multilateral science and advanced technology questions for the Department of State. Among its goals are: to ensure that U.S. space policies and multilateral science activities support U.S. foreign policy objectives; to ensure that U.S. international initiatives and political commitments on space are science-based, protect national security, advance economic interests, and foster environmental protection; and to enhance U.S. space leadership and the competitiveness of the U.S. aerospace industry.
The SAT office has primary responsibility for U.S.  representation on the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, where a wide range of civil space issues are discussed among nations. In the 1960s and 1970s, this committee developed the Outer Space Treaty and three related United Nations conventions, which serve as the bedrock of international space law. The SAT Office also represents the State Department in interagency deliberations on civil space policy issues, coordinates U.S. participation in such multilateral bodies as the NATO Science Committee and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, maintains the official U.S. registry of objects launched into outer space, reviews export license requests for space technology, and provides support to NASA for a network of overseas emergency landing sites for the Space Shuttle.
Currently, the SAT office is coordinating a broad diplomatic effort to encourage acceptance of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) as a worldwide standard for satellite-based navigation. Other initiatives include a wide range of actions to promote space applications for sustainable development, an assessment of whether existing international rules are adequate to preserve open access to space and promote and protect commercial space ventures, and an effort to foster a coherent U.S. government approach toward space cooperation with emerging space programs.
OES Contact:
Ralph Braibanti, Staff Director
braibantirl@state.gov | | | Highlights |  Sign up for Climate, Environment, and Conservation email updates.
On May 24, the United States and Japan issued a Joint Announcement regarding cooperation in the civil use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and its augmentations. Full text
U.S.-Australia Joint Delegation Statement on Cooperation in the Civil Use of GPS and Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Systems and Applications: Government officials from the United States of America and Australia met in Canberra in April 2007 to discuss the bilateral cooperative relationship in the civil use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and regional augmentations to the GPS. The respective officials view civil space-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) systems as an area ready for expanded bilateral cooperation, consistent with national policies and regulatory frameworks. Full Text
The U.S. and India have been working closely in the area of civil space programs since 2004, when both nations agreed to expand cooperation in this area as part of the U.S.-India Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) initiative. In Feb. 07, they convened the 2cdmeeting of the U.S.-India Joint Working Group (JWG) on Civil Space Cooperation, in Washington D.C. (the first occurred in Bangalore, India in 2005), to follow-up on commitments made under NSSP and to expand further cooperation on a wide range of civil space areas, including earth observation; space science and research; and global positioning, navigation and timing systems. The JWG engaged in a broad range of discussions and endorsed a number of conclusions on civil space activities. The U.S. and India also agreed on a cooperative relationship in the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and space-based regional augmentations to the GPS. (Feb. 28)
U.S. GPS and EU Galileo Satellite Systems: Progress Through Partnership
The U.S. and the European Union and its member states have been close partners in the area of space-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) since 2004, when the two parties signed a historic agreement establishing cooperation related to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Europe's planned Galileo program. Announcement on 2004 US -EU Agreement on GPS-Galileo Cooperation; Fact Sheet: U.S. Global Positioning System. In March 2007, the United States and the European Union jointly released information on the complementary nature of civil GPS and Galileo satellite systems, which are being designed to be compatible and interoperable for the benefit of end users around the world. GPS and Galileo: Progress Through Partnership.
U.S. presents views on space debris, remote sensing, and progress in the U.S. space program to the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space during the meeting of the Scientific and Technical Sub-Committee (Feb.12) full text |
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