Dr. Jessica West
@jessicawestphd.bsky.social
Exploring peace, security, and space tech with a critical eye and a human touch.
Research: Grey Zones of Space Governance https://bit.ly/4jaj0Zo ; Hidden Harms in Outer Space https://bit.ly/3DTnBPJ
Reach out to connect and collaborate 🚀 ⭐ 🌍 🛰
Research: Grey Zones of Space Governance https://bit.ly/4jaj0Zo ; Hidden Harms in Outer Space https://bit.ly/3DTnBPJ
Reach out to connect and collaborate 🚀 ⭐ 🌍 🛰
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...
Voting is today. Catch up here: reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...
November 3, 2025 at 2:14 PM
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...
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...
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...
October 26, 2025 at 4:59 PM
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...
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...
A call to turn principles into practice to keep space peaceful for all. Big thanks to those who crafted.
reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...
October 20, 2025 at 2:28 PM
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...
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...
Also calls for equity and inclusivity in governing space for all humankind. 🌍🚀
reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...
October 20, 2025 at 2:19 PM
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...
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-...
We talked about why space is a human domain and new governance opportunities (and challenges of course!).
🎧 www.cigionline.org/pp/space-is-...
Space Is a Human Domain (discussing governance challenges with Esther Brimmer and Jessica West)
Cooperative use of space is essential for a sustainable future on Earth.
www.cigionline.org
October 15, 2025 at 4:59 PM
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-...
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...
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...
October 14, 2025 at 1:58 PM
🛰️ #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...
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...
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...
Absent Voices, Fragile Diplomacy: Rethinking the ‘End of NGOs’ - Project Ploughshares
Geneva, July 2025 In the chilled UN meeting room, on the final day of the Open-Ended Working Group on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS), the chair invited civil society to speak. T...
ploughshares.ca
October 1, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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...
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...
📰 New on On Fragile Orbits: onfragileorbits.substack.com/p/were-not-i...
We’re Not in the Peaceful Uses Era Anymore
The fog of peace has lifted — and what we see in orbit is distortion, arms racing, and risk.
onfragileorbits.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:46 PM
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...
📰 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?...
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?...
September 24, 2025 at 5:39 PM
🚀 #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?...
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...
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...
What's it like training for a moon mission? Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen gives us the scoop | CBC News
If all goes as planned, early next year four astronauts will blast off on a mission that’s been a long time coming: a return to the moon. Canada's Jeremy Hansen takes us through what he's been doing t...
www.cbc.ca
September 24, 2025 at 1:46 PM
🚀 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...
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...
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...
Space Café Radio - with Dr. Jessica West - SpaceWatch.GLOBAL
Join us as we sit down with Dr Jessica West, recently back from the Outer Space Security Conference in Geneva.
spacewatch.global
September 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
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...
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...
Reposted by Dr. Jessica West
Excellent new piece out by @jessicawestphd.bsky.social on #spacesecurity
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...
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...
Space Security in Geneva: Between Constraint and Convergence
How UN diplomats working to prevent an arms race in outer space are inching forward through duplication, silence and small steps.
www.cigionline.org
September 11, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Excellent new piece out by @jessicawestphd.bsky.social on #spacesecurity
Reposted by Dr. Jessica West
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
Space Security in Geneva: Between Constraint and Convergence
How UN diplomats working to prevent an arms race in outer space are inching forward through duplication, silence and small steps.
www.cigionline.org
September 12, 2025 at 5:55 AM
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...
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...
Space Security in Geneva: Between Constraint and Convergence
How UN diplomats working to prevent an arms race in outer space are inching forward through duplication, silence and small steps.
www.cigionline.org
September 10, 2025 at 10:12 AM
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...
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...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump seeks to rebrand Department of Defense as Department of War
The US president has sought to refocus the department on "warfighting" and a "warrior ethos".
www.bbc.com
September 5, 2025 at 3:04 PM
“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...
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...
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...
From Sea to C: A Covenant of C's for Space
If orbit isn’t an ocean, what rules should guide it? The answer may lie in a new covenant of C's to navigate its perils.
onfragileorbits.substack.com
August 26, 2025 at 7:20 PM
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...
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? 🧵
What does this mean, and what should Canada do next? 🧵
August 7, 2025 at 7:47 PM
🚨 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? 🧵
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...
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...
meetings.unoda.org
July 31, 2025 at 9:03 PM
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...
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...
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...
Hidden Harms: Human (In)security in Outer Space: Consultation Visualization - Project Ploughshares
Overview This report is a visualization of the report Hidden Harms: Human (In)security in Outer Space: Consultation Report, which outlines key themes and ideas from a consultation on intersectional pe...
ploughshares.ca
July 24, 2025 at 12:54 PM
🪐 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...
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.
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.
July 23, 2025 at 11:52 PM
⚠️ 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.
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.
Reposted by Dr. Jessica West
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...
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
Dr. Jessica West (@jessicawestphd.bsky.social)
Exploring peace, security, and space tech with a critical eye and a human touch.
Research: Grey Zones of Space Governance https://bit.ly/4jaj0Zo ; Hidden Harms in Outer Space https://bit.ly/3DTnBPJ
...
JessicaWestPHD.bsky.social
July 22, 2025 at 2:43 PM
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...
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 🧵
Themes from the first few statements: #WMD, #debris, #transparency, #communication, #equiy 🧵
July 22, 2025 at 12:39 PM
🚨 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 🧵
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 🧵
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 🧵
July 21, 2025 at 11:39 PM
#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 🧵
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!
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...
ploughshares.ca/wp-content/u...
July 21, 2025 at 12:52 PM
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!
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!
Reposted by Dr. Jessica West
"Golden Dome Explained: Ambition, Reality, Risk" from @jessicawestphd.bsky.social and Kat Barrett @ploughsharesca.bsky.social
ploughshares.ca/wp-content/u...
ploughshares.ca/wp-content/u...
July 15, 2025 at 3:38 PM
"Golden Dome Explained: Ambition, Reality, Risk" from @jessicawestphd.bsky.social and Kat Barrett @ploughsharesca.bsky.social
ploughshares.ca/wp-content/u...
ploughshares.ca/wp-content/u...