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Co-sponsored by SPACE LDP (Â鶹ÉçÇø Law) and

As the numbers and types of space actors increase, the importance of diplomacy will increase in maintaining cooperation, coordination and collaboration in the space domain. The aim of the annual Space Diplomacy Symposium (SDS) is to situate diplomacy in the traditional categories of civilian, commercial and military space activities across all regions of the world.

Download the SDS 2025 Information Booklet (PDF, 780kb).

When

Nov. 7, 2025

9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Where

Walker-Ames Room, Kane Hall ()
University of Washington
4069 Spokane Ln NE, Seattle, WA 98105

Learn more about and . (The nearest stops are ²¹²Ô»åÌý.)

Nearby Hotels (Walkable to Kane Hall, Â鶹ÉçÇø)

This list is provided for convenience only and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the University of Washington.

• College Inn Hotel – 4000 University Way NE (0.2 miles, ~4-minute walk)
• Graduate Seattle – 4507 Brooklyn Ave NE (0.6 miles, ~10-minute walk)
• Residence Inn by MarriottÌý– 4501 12th Ave NE (0.4 miles, ~8-minute walk)
• University InnÌý– 4140 Roosevelt Way NE (0.5 miles, ~10-minute walk)
• Watertown HotelÌý– 4242 Roosevelt Way NE (0.6 miles, ~12-minute walk)
• Silver Cloud InnÌý– 5036 25th Ave NE (1.0 mile, ~18-minute walk)

The Space Law, Data and Policy Program (SPACE LDP), Â鶹ÉçÇø School of Law

Saadia M. Pekkanen, Founding Director, SPACE LDP; Founding Director, SPDR; Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Professor at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and Adjunct Professor at the Â鶹ÉçÇø School of Law; Member, International Institute of Space Law; and Member, Council on Foreign Relations

Scott Schumacher, Director, Global Business Law Institute (GBLI) and Professor of Law, University of Â鶹ÉçÇø of Law

Sponsors

Schedule

8:15 a.m.

Registration; Coffee and tea

9–9:10 a.m.

Welcome

• Saadia M. Pekkanen — Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Professor, The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies (JSIS), University of Washington (Â鶹ÉçÇø); Member, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
• Scott Schumacher — Professor of Law; Co-Director, Global Business Law Institute (GBLI); Associate Dean, Â鶹ÉçÇø School of Law

9:15–9:45 a.m.

Principal Keynote: Diplomacy in the World Order

The purpose of this segment is to offer broad reflections on the role, practice and relevance of diplomacy in the international relations of space. The speaker will raise public awareness of essential topics in the space domain in which diplomacy will be necessary to pursue opportunities and resolve differences in the peaceful interests of all.

Presider: Saadia M. Pekkanen, SPACE LDP, Â鶹ÉçÇø School of Law; SPDR, Jackson School, University of Washington; Member, CFR

Keynote: Esther Brimmer, James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance, CFR; former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs

9:45–9:55 a.m.

Break

10–11:15 a.m.
Military Space Diplomacy

The purpose of this segment is to showcase allied diplomatic initiatives for peace in, through, and at the nexus of space and the principal challenges these efforts face from the tactical to the strategic level. For SDS 2025, one key theme will be the challenges for space as it intersects with other technology frontiers such as cybersecurity.

±Ê°ù±ð²õ¾±»å±ð°ù:ÌýJessica L. Beyer — Assistant Teaching Professor; Lead Cybersecurity Initiative, JSIS, Â鶹ÉçÇø

Panelists

• Graham Calladine — Chief Executive Officer, Questor Inc.
• Setsuko Aoki — Professor, Chiba Institute of Technology; Member, Committee on National Space Policy (CNSP), Cabinet Office, Government of Japan
• Corey Trusty — Col. United States Space Force; Military Fellow, CFR
• Greg Miller — Dean of Space Education for the United States Space Force; Professor of Military and Security Studies, Air University; Adjunct Professor, SAIS-Johns Hopkins

11:15–11:25 a.m.

Break

11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Civil Space Diplomacy

The purpose of this segment is to highlight how and why actors across all regions of the world are forging diplomatic pathways to sustain space exploration, development and prosperity.ÌýFor SDS 2025, one key theme will be the challenges for global space governance from the rise of mega constellations.

±Ê°ù±ð²õ¾±»å±ð°ù:ÌýJames R. A. Davenport — Research Assistant Professor, Department of Astronomy; Director, Institute for Data Intensive Research in Astrophysics & Cosmology (DiRAC), Â鶹ÉçÇø

Panelists

• Francisco Del Canto Viterale — Assistant Professor, University of North Dakota; Research Associate, Institute of Science and Technology Studies, University of Salamanca, Spain
• Amber Charlesworth — Public Policy, Project Kuiper, Amazon; former Director of International Space Council, United States National Space Council
• Greg HellbourgÌý— Staff Scientist and Spectrum Manager, Caltech
• Benjamin Schmitt — Senior Fellow, University of Pennsylvania; Affiliate, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian; Term Member, CFR

12:45–1:30 p.m.

Lunch Break

1:45–3 p.m.
Commercial Space Diplomacy

The purpose of this segment is to assess the ways diplomacy opens opportunities in the global space economy for private actors and can be positioned to resolve commercial, legal and policy challenges across sovereign borders.ÌýFor SDS 2025, one key theme will be the medical and biological challenges for sustaining humanity in space.

±Ê°ù±ð²õ¾±»å±ð°ù:ÌýAmy Hinterberger — Associate Professor; Chair, Department of Bioethics and Humanities, Â鶹ÉçÇø Medicine

Panelists

• Rebecca Connolly — Chairperson, Space Law Council of Australia and New Zealand; Chief Executive Officer, SPACECyT Institute; Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Law School, University of Sydney
• Kristi Morgansen — Boeing-Egtvedt Endowed Professor; Director, Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium; Chair, William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Â鶹ÉçÇø
• Aleksandra Stankovic — Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School; Director, Human Performance Laboratory; Executive Director, Center for Space Medicine Research, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Crystal Pryor — Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, aXXelerate; Chief Research Officer, Trade Strategic; former Vice President and Director of Research, Pacific Forum

3–3:15 p.m.

Break

3:15–3:30 p.m.

Reflections and Takeaways

The purpose of this segment is to offer broad reflections and takeaways from SDS 2025 on the future trajectory of diplomacy in the international relations of space. Drawing on the dialogues from SDS 2025, the speakers will raise public awareness of where and how diplomacy will remain essential to building, securing, and advancing human activities in space.

Presider: Saadia M. Pekkanen, SPACE LDP, Â鶹ÉçÇø School of Law; SPDR, Jackson School, University of Washington

• P.J. Blount — Assistant Professor of Space Law, Durham University’s Space Research Centre; Executive Secretary of the International Institute of Space Law
• Rebecca ConnollyÌý— Chairperson, Space Law Council of Australia and New Zealand; Chief Executive Officer, SPACECyT Institute; Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Law School, University of Sydney
• Giovanni ZanaldaÌý—ÌýProfessor of Practice, Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), Department of Economics, and Department of History; Director of the Rethinking Diplomacy Program, Duke University.

3:30–5:30 p.m.

Reception

6 p.m.

Adjournment