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War in Space? Time to Update Space Law | GZERO World

War in space? Time to update space law

The UN wants to prevent an arms race in space. How? By reforming international space law, which hasn't been updated in more than 50 years.

The current treaty was negotiated during the Cold War, when only two countries — the US and the Soviet Union — had viable programs. Ratified by 111 countries, it bans space nukes and grants all countries the right to peacefully explore space — including the Moon.

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Gabriella Turrisi

The Graphic Truth: Space junk — enter the trashosphere

A Russian missile shot down on Monday a Soviet-era defunct satellite, breaking it up into thousands of fragments and throwing NASA into a tizzy. As the number of satellites in space has grown rapidly in recent years, the amount of trash floating up there too now vastly exceeds the tonnage of the satellites themselves from accidents, collisions, explosions, and the odd missile hit. It's not just a litter problem — space junk moves at over 17 thousand miles per hour, as fast as functioning spacecraft, so even a tiny fragment can severely damage a satellite. We compare the number of satellites to the debris circling Earth.

Amazon Satellites and Project Kuiper: Next Steps in Big Tech Space Race | Cyber In :60 | GZERO Media

Amazon satellites and Project Kuiper: next steps in Big Tech space race

Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, Eurasia Group senior advisor and former MEP, discusses trends in big tech, privacy protection and cyberspace:

Amazon is to launch its first two internet satellites in 2022. Is Big Tech leading the new space race?

Well, yep. In many ways it is. Amazon is not only launching its CEO up there, but also satellites that would offer internet access for people all over the world, and that is a combination with infrastructure on the ground. This way, Amazon will try to open up more access and markets for its own services in developing countries that are yet untapped.

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Ian Explains: Making Sense of Our New Global Economy | GZERO World

Making sense of our new global economy

If billionaires shooting off into space because their net worth has jumped 60 percent sounds cringeworthy to you, you're not alone. Indeed, the pandemic hasn't been kind to the 120 million people into extreme poverty. Nor to the global economy as a whole, which stands to lose $2.3 trillion by 2025 due to vaccine inequality.

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Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Space Flight & the New Space Race | World :60s | GZERO Media

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space flight & the new space race

Ian Bremmer shares his perspective on global politics this week with a look to outer space, in a special edition of (Out of The) World In 60 Seconds:

Was today's Blue Origin space flight a big deal for humankind, or just a big deal for Jeff Bezos?

I'm not sure the space flight itself was such a big deal for humankind, but I do think the advances in space technology, which are increasingly stepping up, they're much quicker. I mean, reusable rockets that land exactly where they took off. That's very different from the space shuttle a couple of decades ago, and very exciting in terms of the ability to not just engage in space tourism, but explore both what's outside of our Earth and beyond. So yeah, I think the fact that's being driven by the private sector is a big deal for the United States, a big deal for the planet. I, having said that, the planet that we're right now all on, is the one that matters, I think, the most to everybody for the foreseeable future.

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Trump vs Twitter; Civilians in Space? | Tech In :60 | GZERO Media

Trump vs Twitter; Civilians in Space?

Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, explains the feud between Trump and Twitter and weighs in on Elon Musk's ambitious space plans:

What is happening between Trump and Twitter?

A lot. Twitter decided it had to fact check the president because the president said something that wasn't entirely true, and perhaps was false, about voting. Twitter cares a lot about lies about voting. So, they fact check Trump. Trump got really mad, said he's going to get rid of some of the laws that protect Twitter from liability when people say bad things on their platform. That started war number one.

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A Day in the Life of a Space Commander

A Big Day for Space

On the same day NASA announced it would — for the first time — permit private citizens to visit the International Space Station, President Trump threw cold water on American plans for a return to the moon. GZERO took a step back, and caught up with former ISS Space Commander Chris Hadfield about what it's like to work and live in space.

How to Stay Motivated in Outer Space: Work in 60 Seconds

How to Stay Motivated in Outer Space: Work in 60 Seconds

When you're in outer space, how do you stay motivated, when it's so lonely and pretty stressful too?

It's actually all about the mission. It sounds a little stereotypical to say that but the work is so important and there just isn't a do over. I mean, if you mess something up and you have to do it over, often you can do that. But there's just - you could be doing other really useful things. In the case of something like capturing a 16-ton supply ship with the robotic arm, there really isn't a do over and I find it's the mission but it's also kind of just saying, you know, "I have done everything I can to be ready." If you've done your best. No one can ask anything more than that. So you're ready.

Do you apply that to your work life now here on the ground?

I do that, you know, but often I'm like, I will say an example of TED here, I was a little worried about giving a talk and forgetting, or not saying everything I meant to say, and that was all wrapped up in me and then I went to the first night of talks here and I realized that everyone's here because they have something to say and people are here to listen. And that was the important mission, as opposed to me worrying about how I felt about it, and that got me through.



And go deeper on topics like cybersecurity and artificial intelligence at Microsoft on The Issues.

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