In an address at the opening ceremony of the China Energy and Environment Summit on August 27, former President of India Dr. Abdul Kalam suggested the implementation of a World Space Council among the space-faring nations. “One of the important missions of this Council would be to develop and deploy space systems needed for harvesting and transmitting energy from space to Earth,” he stated.
“The World Space Council with global participation could oversee the planning and implementation of exploration, energy and societal missions. Such a unified approach will enable the world to see a quantum jump in the progress in space science and technology for the benefit of all the nations of the world.”
The World Space Council would include the following components:
- “Large-scale societal missions and low cost access to space: There is definitely a need for spacefaring nations to work together to develop reusable launch vehicles, which can bring down the cost of payload in orbit from the present US $ 20,000 per kg to US $ 2000 per kg and eventually to $200 per kg.”
- “Comprehensive space security: I suggested the creation of an International Space Force (ISF) made up of all spacefaring nations wishing to participate and contribute to protect world space assets in a manner which will enable peaceful use of space on a global cooperative basis.”
- “Space exploration and current application missions: Space exploration mission for material like helium-3, water and life and the current application missions in telecommunication, remote sensing and other societal applications and considering Earth-Moon-Mars as a single economic complex for the benefit of humanity.”
Kalam went on to describe space solar power and “the evolution of the idea of Kalam-NSS Energy Initiative for Space Solar Power Satellite with focus on convergence of competencies from different nations towards the realization of a futuristic mission for green energy from space.”
