Stratcom Could Ink International Data Sharing Pacts

July 20, 2011 at 8:58 am | Posted in Space Law Current Events | Leave a comment

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

WASHINGTON — The White House is looking to give U.S. Strategic Command (Stratcom) the authority to negotiate orbital data sharing agreements with other nations as part of a broader effort to ensure safety of operations in the increasingly congested space environment, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said.

Ambassador Gregory Schulte, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, also said the United States and China have agreed in principle to hold regular military space consultations. He cautioned that no such meetings have been scheduled yet but said the two sides have an ongoing military dialogue and share a common interest in preserving the space environment and ensuring that it does not become a flash point in their relations. [more]