Dr. Brian Weeden

Director of Program Planning | Secure World Foundation | USA

Jim Cooper

Lead, SSA Solutions | COMSPOC Corporation (CC) | USA

Jim Cooper, as the Lead for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Solutions, Government and Industry Relations at COMSPOC Corp, supports strategy and business development and execution, as well as marketing and sales, and engagement with government and industry associations, to deliver commercial SSA solutions to government, military, and commercial organizations worldwide, including the strategic pursuit and development of large, long-term program opportunities and enterprise accounts. Jim has over 33 years of professional experience in SSA policy, operations, international engagement, and funding support, spanning active duty military, military contractor, and commercial enterprises. Prior to the establishment of COMSPOC Corp. as a separate entity in 2020, Jim conducted similar duties for Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI), an Ansys Company, for four years.

COMSPOC Corp is a global leader in SSA, as well as Space Domain Awareness and Space Traffic Coordination and Management. Through the first-of-its-kind commercial SSA center, COMSPOC delivers accurate, precise, and timely SSA to address current and emerging challenges in today's space environment. COMSPOC Corp. operates the Commercial Space Operations Center, the Space Data Center, and provides staffing and resources for the Center for Space Standards and Innovation, its research arm, and the Space Safety Coalition.

Prior to joining AGI, Jim provided SETA support for 16 years to HQ USAF/A3 and for 3 years to HQ AFSPC/A3 in the SSA mission area. In this capacity, he advocated for SSA in the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) process, supported SSA operational concerns and policy development, and conducted international engagement in SSA for the AF/A3.

After graduating with a B.S from the US Air Force Academy in 1985, Jim served in the USAF for 8 years as an Orbital Analyst in the Space Surveillance Center at Cheyenne Mountain AFB, CO, and a Master Instructor for Undergraduate Space Training at Lowry AFB, CO. Upon separating from the USAF, he worked as a commercial diver for 4 years in marine oilfield support and inland marine facility inspection.

Jim is married to Mrs. Sarah Cooper; they are the parents of two children - Zachary, 16 years old, and Elizabeth, 12 years old.

Duncan Blake

Lecturer in Space Law and Strategy | Australian Defence Force Academy, UNSW | Australia

Duncan Blake is a lecturer in military and space law and strategy at UNSW Canberra, a PhD candidate researching the intersection of space law and the laws of war at the University of Adelaide, an Air Force Reserve Legal Officer providing operations law support at the strategic level, and a consultant with International Aerospace Law and Policy Group.

Duncan transferred from the permanent Air Force to the Reserves in January 2017, after 22 years as a Legal Officer in the RAAF. He worked at the tactical, operational and strategic levels at home and on deployment overseas. He deployed on operational tours providing legal support for ADF operations in the Middle East in 2003, 2009 and 2016. Duncan has contributed extensively to doctrine and policy for Defence and whole-of-government, on issues of operations law and space law. He has founded and chaired inter-departmental and international working groups on space law, especially in a military and strategic context.

He has undergraduate degrees in Law and Economics, a Master of Laws by coursework from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Laws by research from McGill University. He is also a graduate of Australian Command and Staff College. His Masters thesis topic at McGill University was on the need for a 'Manual on International Law Applicable to Warfare in Space'. His thesis topic was the genesis for a multi-year project, bringing together international experts across the globe, to draft such a manual, to clarify the application of international law to space activities, especially in a military context. Duncan has been Managing Editor of the 'Woomera Manual' project (https://law.adelaide.edu.au/woomera/), which is a manual of international law applicable to military space activities, and which is expected to be published in 2023. He is also undertaking doctoral research at The University of Adelaide on a topic associated with the project.

Duncan is a husband, father of two, avid road cyclist, mountain biker and skier.

Jason Mallare

VP, Government Programs and Strategy | Umbra | USA

Aditya Ramanathan

Research Fellow | The Takshashila Institution | India

Dr. N. Aparna

Group Director, NDC Data & Products | National Remote Sensing Centre |

Noelle Riza Castillo

Director of the Bureau of Space Policy and International Cooperation | Philippine Space Agency |

Atty. Noelle Riza D. Castillo is the Director of the Space Policy and International Cooperation Bureau (SPICB) of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA). She is a lawyer by profession, and obtained her Economics and Law degrees from the University of the Philippines - Diliman. She officially joined PhilSA in January 2021 and was later appointed by the President of the Philippines to her current position as Director for PhilSA-SPICB, which position she assumed on April 5, 2021.

In SPICB are the two divisions of: Space Policy and Legal Affairs, and Space International Cooperation. The Space Policy and Legal Affairs Division, or SPLAD, provides internal and external legal services for PhilSA's different programs and activities involving administrative matters or special concerns. It also handles international space law, principles, developments, legislative liaison, and current issues. Meanwhile, in close coordination with SPLAD is the Space International Cooperation Division, or SICD. SICD takes the lead in forging cooperation relationships with international counterparts, and representation in international organizations and forums.

Ms. Castillo represents the Philippines as a delegate to the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), the UN Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on reducing space threats through norms, rules, and principles of responsible behaviours. She is currently a nominee to the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) being tasked to consider and make recommendations on substantial elements of an international legally binding instrument on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, which is set to convene later this year 2023.

Aya Iwamoto

Vice President, Policy and Government Relations | Astroscale | Japan

Caitlin Searle

Counsellor - Science and Technology | Australian High Commission, New Delhi |

Ajey Lele

Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis | |