This year is the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s historic first step on the moon a moment that marked a turning point in international efforts to explore outer space. Since then space policy has become integral to the future of human space travel. This will be the topic of the Space Policy Symposium an event designed to show the significance of space policy to the Pepperdine community.
The symposium is being hosted by the School of Public Policy (SPP) and will take place Tuesday at Drescher Auditorium from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. It will feature a showing of the documentary “In the Shadow of the Moon as well as lectures from two prominent experts in space policy, Bill Bruner and Gil Klinger. Students and faculty from all of Pepperdine’s colleges and schools are welcome to attend the event.
According to SPP associate professor Michael Shires, outer space is the one great frontier” that binds all humans together. The decisions the United States and other countries make regarding space policy in the future will have a global impact.
“Even though the economy clouds our public dialogue today space represents one of the areas of endeavor where pure science is still king Shires wrote in an e-mail. And the progress made [by] meeting the exigencies of space have and will lead to innovations that benefit society.”
Pauletta Walsh the assistant dean for Advancement & Alumni Affairs at the SPP said space policy is relevant issue for all students. Although the SPP currently doesn’t offer any courses on the subject Walsh said the school is open to having space policy classes in the future.
“Every time you use a cell phone you’re using space Walsh said. People often think space has nothing to do with them … [but] that’s just not the case especially in our modern world. So I think space policy is a viable and vibrant area of study for our students.”
The symposium will kick off at 11 a.m. with a showing of “In the Shadow of the Moon about the nine American moon voyages that took place between 1968 and 1972. In the film, many surviving astronauts who have walked on the moon reflect on their experiences in outer space.
It’s about the spiritual and aspirational effects on the astronauts looking back at … what changed for them from the experience of seeing the Earth the way perhaps God would see the Earth Walsh said.
At 1 p.m., Bruner will give a talk on the opportunities and dangers of U.S. civil and military space policy. A former member of NASA’s senior management team, Bruner now serves as the director of government and external relations at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. While at NASA, he played a crucial role in developing and communicating agency policy.
After Bruner’s talk, Klinger will be speaking about the past, present and future of space policy, focusing on how it has evolved from the launch of Sputnik in 1957 to the recent emergence of space tourism. Klinger is the Director of the Space and Intelligence Office for the Undersecretary of Defense, Technology, and Logistics. He is responsible for overseeing the Department of Defense’s space-based national security programs.
Following their lectures, both Bruner and Klinger will take questions from the audience.
Wilfred McClay, a visiting professor at the SPP, said there are both economic and strategic reasons why sound and far-sighted space policy is essential for the American future.”
“Whether one is thinking about access to fresh sources of energy and raw materials McClay wrote in an e-mail, or the command and control that are essential to the successful conduct of any future wars or simply the preservation of the huge satellite-borne web of communications upon which we all depend— policymakers can no more ignore space today than they could have ignored the oceans a hundred years ago.”
Shires said he hopes the symposium will spark an interest in space policy and open the door to future discussions about the subject.
“It is my hope that the participants will gain a deeper and richer appreciation and understanding of the policy issues that frame this import policy area Shires said. I do hope this is not our last contribution to this important policy dialogue.”