The University of Colorado Boulder established a new center to address the policy challenges of the rapidly expanding space industry.

The Colorado Space Policy Center, announced at the end of June, will serve as a hub for research and public policy conversations for local, national and perhaps international stakeholders.

CU Boulder already has notable aerospace engineering, public policy and international law programs — but the center aims to help unify multiple disciplines to approach issues facing legislators from a more well-rounded viewpoint.

Alongside the new center, a professorship in space policy and law will rotate every two years between the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the Leeds Schools of Business and Silicon Flatirons, a research center at the University of Colorado Law School.

CU Boulder donors Dale and Patricia Hatfield are funding the endeavor with $2.5 million to establish the Hatfield Endowed Professorship in Space Policy & Law.

Aerospace Engineering Sciences Professor Marcus Holzinger spent the last few years of his career working on space debris policy and is the first to take up the professorship.

“Most of the Space Policy centers are across the nation, and frankly, also internationally, are run by people who are experts in policy, which is necessary,” Holzinger said. “Our position is that we can add to the conversation by making sure that these discussions are, I’ll say, physics aware.”

With rapid expansion in the commercial space industry, new center Director Professor Daniel Baker said space is involved in our everyday lives more than most people even realize.

“Dr. Burns and I have been thinking for at least a decade that we needed to have a place, a safe place for people to come and talk about the issues and to find solutions to the vexing challenges that are confronting the space program,” he said.

One of the most pressing issues on Baker’s mind is the lack of regulation in Low Earth Orbit.

LEO refers to the area of space where satellites orbit relatively close to Earth, and are considered near enough for convenient transportation.

“Soon there will be tens of thousands of spacecrafts that are launched not only by U.S. companies, but by other companies abroad for a point-to-point communication,” said Baker.

Jack Burns, a professor of astrophysics in the department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences — and a close colleague of Baker — shares the concern.

“Looking at the regulatory environment for space is important. And frankly, right now, it’s kind of the wild west as far as space law is concerned,” he said.

The hope is that the center will serve as a place for informed conversations about how policy can keep up with the advancing technological landscape; and that CU can share the expertise it has gained with those making important decisions.

According to the Colorado Space Coalition, the state ranks first in the nation for per-capita private aerospace workers. Professors said it only makes sense that the university takes on the role of a hub for addressing current gaps in the legal space.

Holzinger’s new professorship will allow him to travel to policy talks around the country and internationally, in an aim to contribute towards the impact of those decisions.

“It’s increasingly clear that there was a demand on the part of our students as well as with industry and our federal delegation in Washington for more inputs and more help on space policy issues,” Burns said.

The center will also give students from many disciplines a chance to be a part of its work, from engineering to law and even perhaps the humanities.

Burns said the center is looking at having a certificate of space policy that students could earn, and eventually perhaps more advanced degrees.

Although the center may not be able to solve every problem facing the rapidly expanding industry, Baker said he hopes some of their work will lead to wiser decisions.

“We’re rapidly falling behind. I think competitors in the world like China, because we’re not making wise enough investments, wise enough choices, politically and economically,” he said. “We want to elevate the understanding amongst policymakers, so that we do the right thing, and that we may remain the world’s leading space Nation.”