Senior international leaders in Space are meeting for the annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from April 8 to 11, 2019. Air chiefs and their senior space representatives from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States are attending, including Lieutenant-General Al Meinzinger, commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force. This morning the seven nations released the following statement.

As defence leaders in our respective nations, we unequivocally recognize the strategic importance the space domain has on our economy, technology, national security and defense. To that end, we collectively share the view that military cooperation concerning the space domain is vital to our countries’ interests.

Our respective nations are actively working together to address threats and shared interests in space; and to preserve access to the space domain for the future of humankind. We are actively coordinating to further our national interests through the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) initiative. In part, CSpO collaboration includes enhanced Space Situational Awareness and data sharing among all partner nations to support space activities.

To enhance our space collaboration, we are also discussing operational concepts, personnel needs and infrastructure requirements to enhance multinational command and control of space forces in and through the Combined Space Operations Center and the other national Space Operations Centers.

We recognize tangible advances in space cooperation and capabilities have been achieved through the CSpO initiative and we are dedicated to identifying future capabilities to support our countries’ common interests in and through space.