The Space Generation Advisory Council

Introduction

The Space Generation Advisory Council in Support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications (Space Generation Advisory Council [SGAC or SpaceGen], 2018) is a “global non-governmental, non-profit (US 501(c)3) organisation and network which aims to represent university students and young space professionals ages 18-35 to the United Nations, space agencies, industry, and academia.” The organisation was created in 1999 at the United Nations Conference on Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III) and according to The Space Millennium: Vienna Declaration on Space and Human Development (1999) the aim was to “create, within the framework of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), a consultative mechanism to facilitate the continued participation of young people from all over the world, especially young people from developing countries and young women, in cooperative space-related activities.”

SGAC members are university students and young professionals with very diverse educational and professional backgrounds from engineering to management, law and policy, international relations, economics, sciences, mission operations and more. The members also come from different countries but yet work remotely on various projects and activities together ranging from the planning and organisation of one of our numerous events to the publication of a report, the organisation of a competition or the production of a video. This diversity and global reach includes geographic, ethnic, and gender equality which only strengthens the credibility and vision of SGAC and what its members can bring to the international space community.

Building on this sustained growth of the past few years and having succession planning and long-term strategies in place, SGAC (2018), “continues to achieve its mission through these five pillars”, as also seen in Figure 1:

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  Hosting events at the international, regional and local levels, bringing our members together to discuss and engage with current leaders from space agencies, industry and academia;

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  Maintaining SGAC project groups year-round in order to enable our members to shape key topics on space through technical papers, policy briefs and recommendations;

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  Providing scholarships that enable our members to participate in space-related events around the world;

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  Empowering our members with the skills and experiences to become the space leaders of tomorrow;

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  Partnering with leading space agencies, corporations and organizations from around the world to nurture the next generation of space leaders.

Figure 1.

Five pillars of SGAC

Source: SGAC, 2018

In light of these different initiatives, SpaceGen has a strong commitment to demonstrating how further involvement of the next generation can strengthen the global space community.

This book, “Promoting Productive Cooperation Between Space Lawyers and Engineers” is a perfect example of a project put in place by 21 members to contribute to the future of space activities, bringing into the process the views of the future generation of space leaders as regards to their long-term visions for space policy, law, engineering, science and the tools with which to act. Through this book, the authors demonstrate the benefits and importance of having a multi-disciplinary approach in space activities. This book has a particular importance for the organisation because it shows the perspective of the next generation on cross-sectorial activities which is put forward by many actors in the industry. It showcases that technical and non-technical students and young professionals can learn from each other which is in line with SGAC’s mandate.