Concerns that a nuclear weapon could be orbited have circulated for nearly 2 years. They resurfaced this week in comments by Canada’s 3 Canadian Space Division commander. The Outer Space Treaty prohibits placing nuclear weapons in orbit; a core pillar of space security. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

This resonates far beyond Greenland. For Canada, Arctic security and NORAD modernization depend on consent, cooperation, and trust. Treating allied territory as leverage undermines the foundation North American defence actually rests on.

We rely on space every day, often without realizing it. But orbit is becoming more dangerous and Canada is being pushed to respond. In this Maclean’s article, I unpack what the shifting security landscape means for us and why an arms-race approach would backfire. macleans.ca/politics/can...

Travelling from D.C. to New York for UN discussions on space security, the same point is coming up across industry, norms work, and diplomacy: governance is a capability. Reflections in my new Substack: 🔗https://onfragileorbits.substack.com/p/governance-is-a-capability-and-canada?r=2iqo6v

Accusations have been loud at the UN’s #FirstCommittee discussion on #SpaceSecurity. But the quiet story is cooperation, as states maintain parallel progress on both legal and behavioural tracks. Voting is today. Catch up here: reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...

Nukes, interceptors, and a peace coalition: outer space diplomacy is heating up at the UN. My summary of day one of the dedicated space security debate. Full version at the link. More to come this week. reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...

Proud to see @ploughsharesca.bsky.social intern Kianna Low-A-Che deliver the joint civil society statement on #SpaceSecurity at #UNGA #FirstCommittee A call to turn principles into practice to keep space peaceful for all. Big thanks to those who crafted. reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...

At #UNGA #FirstCommittee, #Italy proposed a legally binding ban on destructive #ASAT tests, turning restraint into law and bridging legal + normative divides in #SpaceSecurity. Also calls for equity and inclusivity in governing space for all humankind. 🌍🚀 reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...

A lot of my work on space security leans toward the gloomy side 😅 — so this conversation with Dr. Esther Brimmer for CIGI felt like a breath of fresh air. We talked about why space is a human domain and new governance opportunities (and challenges of course!). 🎧 www.cigionline.org/pp/space-is-...

🛰️ #SpaceSecurity is a big focus at the #UN #FirstCommittee. During Week 1: 💣 Nuclear and tech entanglement is reshaping deterrence. 🚀 Restraint in the space arms race is slipping—“nearing the point of no return.” More via Reaching Critical Will (p. 23) 👇 reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...

They keep declaring the death of NGOs. But we’re not gone, we’re adapting. Civil society is still here, still shaping, still necessary. I dig into what this means for diplomacy in my latest piece for the Ploughshares Monitor: ploughshares.ca/absent-voice...

From Geneva to Brussels, the warnings are clear: unpredictability, arms racing, and risks that reach far beyond orbit. 📰 New on On Fragile Orbits: onfragileorbits.substack.com/p/were-not-i...

🚀 #GoldenDome: what’s it about? Tomorrow I’ll be online with Sam Wilson + International Student/Young Pugwash to talk through the nuts, bolts, dilemmas & dollars. Plenty of discussion time. Bring your questions and maybe a calculator. Register: britishpugwash.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?...

🚀 The countdown is on for #ArtemisII. Jeremy Hansen jokes about training for space death. Beneath the humour is truth: human spaceflight IS life & death. Astronauts are explorers and pioneers of human health, a part of the human story in space worth appreciating. 🔗 www.cbc.ca/news/science...

Space no longer feels like the era of “peaceful uses.” At UNIDIR’s #OS25 we tackled lunar risks, commercial pressures, youth voices, and unpredictability in orbit. I’m still holding onto optimism. Diplomacy can move us forward. 🎙️ @spacewatch.bsky.social spacewatch.global/2025/09/spac...

Excellent new piece out by @jessicawestphd.bsky.social on #spacesecurity

The UN open-ended working group on the prevention of an arms race in outer space is continuing with a two-track structure focusing on legally binding obligations & voluntary measures, a compromise keeping all at the table, write @vsamsondc.bsky.social & @jessicawestphd.bsky.social for CIGI 9/10

Constraint is survival. Convergence is progress. That is the message in my new CIGI piece with @vsamsondc.bsky.social reflecting on the #PAROS #OEWG. Convergence needs is also a theme at #OS25 Day Two, touching on cislunar to strategic and commercial space. 🔗 www.cigionline.org/articles/spa...

“Department of War.” Names aren’t just labels; they set the logic of governance. Shifting from defense to war makes conflict the organizing structure, just as calling space a warfighting domain primes us to govern for conflict, not cooperation. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Listening to the UN #OEWG on #PAROS from Nova Scotia, I thought I heard: “there is no C in space.” They meant sea. But what’s really missing are the C’s: care, communication, consent, clarity, constraints. More in my latest On Fragile Orbit: onfragileorbits.substack.com/p/from-sea-t...

🚨 Canada has lifted restrictions on joining missile defence. Talk of participating in the U.S.-led Golden Dome is gaining momentum. What does this mean, and what should Canada do next? 🧵

Still digesting last week’s #ParosOEWG session, but wanted to share the CIGI submission on emerging tech in space. AI, cyber, quantum tools are reshaping space. Principles alone aren’t enough: we need the “missing middle” of real-world practice. 🛰️ Link: meetings.unoda.org/meeting/7486...

🪐 1/ I didn’t post much when this first came out because I was caring for a loved one. But as I follow the #ParosOEWG discussions this week, the themes in Hidden Harms: Human (In)security in Outer Space feel more relevant than ever. ploughshares.ca/hidden-harms...

⚠️ Day 3 of the #ParosOEWG I’ve been following along closely, but won’t be able to provide detailed coverage for the rest of the week due to other work (and some cherished family time in Nova Scotia 🇨🇦). 📰 A full overview and analysis will follow next week so stay tuned.

Why is Canada even entertaining the idea of joining Trump's "Golden Dome," a program that would cost billions of dollars and likely would not even work? Let's look at the facts: By @jessicawestphd.bsky.social from @ploughsharesca.bsky.social www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

🚨 Substantive work begins at the UN meetings to prevent an arms race in outer space (#ParosOEWG) as the agenda and timetable are adopted. Themes from the first few statements: #WMD, #debris, #transparency, #communication, #equiy 🧵

#ParosOEWG Day 1 Meeting 2 Recap: Debate was dominated by procedural issues, particularly: ❓ Status/flexibility of the indicative timetable. ❓ Rules and limits on observer participation, including by EU No agreement was reached; Chair encouraged constructive reflection 🧵

This took quite a while to piece together in what I hope is a fairly clear and comprehensive overview of key issues related to Golden Dome. Very happy to have had help from Kat Barrett, via Canada's student summer jobs program - it makes a difference to small orgs like ours!

"Golden Dome Explained: Ambition, Reality, Risk" from @jessicawestphd.bsky.social and Kat Barrett @ploughsharesca.bsky.social ploughshares.ca/wp-content/u...

🛰️ #ParosOEWG Session 2 (Day 1 Morning Recap) The UN working group on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space reconvened today in Geneva. Here’s what happened during the first morning meeting. 🧵

🛰️ The Open-Ended Working Group on PAROS (Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space) is meeting this week at the UN in Geneva. It's slow, complex, and vital. Here's a quick guide via Project Ploughshares to the what, why, & how of the discussion: 🔗 ploughshares.ca/a-short-guid...

Govts love "dual-use." But what happens when civilian access is lost? The Pentagon just cut public weather data from DMSP. The system still works—it’s just no longer shared. In a dual-use world, we have to think carefully about protecting civilian use. www.npr.org/2025/06/28/n...

⁉️ How do you enforce norms in space?⁉️ One answer: they make their way into law. The new European Space Act turns UN principles like debris mitigation, traffic coordination, and fair access into binding rules. Norms ripple. And they matter. 👉 commission.europa.eu/news-and-med...

🛰️ Nukes in orbit? It’s back in the headlines. What’s real, what’s Dr. Strangelove, and what does it say about governing the fragile space above us? Kicking off On Fragile Orbits, Emma Gatti kindly hosted me on her Substack The Space Republic 👇 www.thespacerepublic.news/p/dr-strange...

Priviledged to co-host a CIGI workshop last week tackling a BIG question: how do we govern space, AI, quantum & cyber together, when old rules can’t keep up? It’s not just about tech: it’s about trust, cooperation, and investing in our values. From principles to practice, Canada has a role. #G7 🍁

Glad to have had the chance to touch base with @kduggan.bsky.social on critical questions about Canada's participation in #GoldenDome The costs are many. www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/national/cos...

Is Golden Dome the Icarus Project of U.S. defense—soaring ambition, shaky foundations, and a real risk of geopolitical burn? @wjhenn.bsky.social hits most of my concerns. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/o... More from me + @vsamsondc.bsky.social on the geopolitical part: spacenews.com/hubble-bubbl...

The U.S. is quietly loosening internal restrictions on offensive counterspace operations. Theresa Hitchens reports on new rules that give SPACECOM more authority to plan and wargame ASAT use and the risks of escalation. 🔗 breakingdefense.com/2025/05/excl... #SpaceSecurity #ASAT #Counterspace

Another early train to Sick Kids. A reminder: the personal is political. My son was born with heart defects during my PhD. He’s OK, thanks to public investment in science, medicine, and health. We give back when we can through participation in research. I try to do work that gives back, too.

The costs of a "Golden Dome" missile defense system are mindboggling. Not included in this $542-billion price tag are operational/replacement costs. Or threats beyond NK, 'near-peer' states. Via @thitch.bsky.social breakingdefense.com/2025/05/gold...

Looks like #LunarGateway is on the chopping block. If so, this would have huge implications for Canada's space program and strategy, which has banked almost $1-billion on #Canadarm3 for the Gateway project. spacenews.com/white-house-...

⚠️ The new U.S. Space Warfighting Framework embraces a zero-sum vision of space superiority, putting even kinetic strike on the table. A wake-up call for the urgent need to modernize and advance #PAROS diplomacy. 📄 www.spacecom.mil/Portals/32/S... #SpaceSecurity

I followed the first session of the #ParosOEWG last week. What’s meant to be an open process to prevent conflict in space felt anything but. Some reflections on the process, the challenges, and what’s at stake via Project Ploughshares. 🛰️ www.ploughshares.ca/reports/open... #SpaceSecurity

1/ #ParosOEWG declared OPEN by the #Chair for the final meeting of this week. Having been suspended for closed door discussions on procedural matters almost all week, the outcome seems to be consensus in principle, but not yet adoption, of an agenda. Full 🧵

It looks as though the #ParosOEWG may formally resume today at 16:30 CET/10:30 ET. You can listen live (see below) or let me do it for you! 🔊 listen-live.unog.ch/en/meetings/...

The international community must reaffirm the consensus that nuclear weapons have no place in space and address the broader issues of space security argues @jessicawestphd.bsky.social

Whiting: “We need orbital interceptors. And what do we call these? We call these weapons, and we need them to deter a space conflict and to be successful if we end up in such a fight.”

The corollary“5 Keys” for peace and diplomacy: #PAROS is essential—and so is: 🛰️ Preventing first strike through: ☎️ Crisis communication 🤝 Coordinated de-escalation 📡 Civilian infrastructure protection 🌍 Sustainable space access for all www.airandspaceforces.com/war-in-space...

Second meeting time today #cancelled. #ParosOEWG