Description
The space domain now includes a rapidly expanding number of actors, with 73 countries and major private companies like SpaceX operating thousands of objects in orbit. Alongside this, capabilities are advancing as countries seek to diversify their space programmes with new technologies and advanced methods of operating within the domain. It is amidst this changing and evolving climate that questions arise about how such a diverse group of actors operate and communicate in outer space, and how they effectively signal their goals and intentions to other players in this realm.
This paper seeks to expand upon the notion of signalling and perceptions in international relations by applying them to the space domain. It will use case studies to examine how orbital activities can communicate broader postures and consider how they may be received in a community of spacefaring actors that share little consensus on norms and thresholds. The research presented forms part of my ongoing doctoral project, which examines how a spacefaring nation may communicate a desire to establish or maintain a condition of strategic stability in space. In line with this year’s conference theme of “new thinking, new directions,” my research seeks to revisit traditional discussions of signalling and communication in international relations through the lens of the contemporary orbital environment and the changing nature of space activities.
