U.S. Space Command and fellow NATO spacefaring nations reaffirmed their ironclad commitment to the safety and stability of the space domain throughout Space Symposium that was in session from April 8-11, 2024.
Leaders within USSPACECOM met with foreign senior leaders serving within NATO’s headquarters, as well as representatives from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Spain, Italy, Finland, and others, to expand opportunities for collaboration and greater integration.
To kick off Space Foundation’s annual week of events, U.S. Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting, USSPACECOM commander, hosted French Air and Space General Philippe Lavigne, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, for discussions on the critical role of space to the NATO Alliance and its deterrence of conflict, Apr. 8, 2024.
The following day, U.S. Army Gen. Brian Gibson, USSPACECOM director of strategy, plans and policy, met with Royal Air Force Air Marshal Johnny Stringer, NATO Allied Air Command deputy commander, to explore opportunities for future collaboration and integration. NATO’s Allied Air Command, headquartered in Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is home to the NATO Space Centre where space experts from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany work side by side to help coordinate Allied space activities.
In addition to agreements signed with Uruguay and Brazil, USSPACECOM and the Spanish Space Command met to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) assigning a Spanish liaison officer to USSPACECOM, Apr. 10, 2024. Gibson and Spanish Air Force Maj. Gen. Isaac Manuel Crespo Zaragoza, Space Commander for the Spanish Air and Space Force, signed the arrangement to further strengthen the United States’ partnership with Spain in the space domain, and build upon the existing collaboration through USSPACECOM’s Exercise Global Sentinel 24 and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) information-sharing program.
Throughout the week, Gibson also participated in bilateral engagements with the German Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Traut, commander of German Space Command; Royal Norwegian Navy VADM Nils Andreas Stensøne, director of the Norwegian Intelligence Service; Italian Air Force Lt. Gen. Luca Goretti, Italian Air Force Chief of Staff; and Finnish Air Force Maj. Gen. Juha-Pekka Keränen, commander of the Finnish Air Force.
USSPACECOM strengthens relationships among NATO Allies to enhance the safety, stability, and sustainability of the space domain by promoting responsible behaviors among all spacefaring nations.
