Reducing the risk of damage to present and future space systems, as well as to people, places, and objects on the Earth. A working group on space traffic management explored international methods for coordination, regulation, and enforcement of space "rules of the road."

Space traffic management encompasses all the phases of a space object's life, from launch to disposal. That means from liftoff, in-orbit collision avoidance, to coordination of reentry.

Among its findings, this working group observed:

• Current tracking catalogs of space objects need to be improved to enable effective collision avoidance;
• All space-faring nations need to follow common "rules of the road" for space - although such rules are not well specified now. Right of way, zoning, communication, and environmental rules are among categories that need to be addressed;
• No space traffic management model exists. Rather, some sort of hybrid air, land and maritime traffic management regime is a must;
• The long-term space environment needs protection. To do so, consistent and generally acknowledged industry standards to lessen space debris should be developed. Geostationary orbit needs protection. It is a unique and invaluable location. Debris in this area lingers for millions of years and could wreak havoc with major weather satellites, along with at least one hundred billion dollars worth of communications satellites;
• A de-orbiting notification process is needed, one that builds on the experience gained in the purposeful reentry of the Russian Mir space station and the U.S. Gamma Ray Observatory.

Even if "best practices" are in force at GEO, "future collisions may still cause satellites to fragment, or explosions may create large amounts of debris, threatening the future capability to use GEO," the working group noted.

Summing up, this working group underscored the fact that "existing international bodies, national regulatory bodies, space agencies, societies, and industry all have key roles to play."

Three other working groups dealt with global navigation satellite system; space-based Earth observations; and space and the public.

Regarding global navigation, urgent attention is needed to find ways various systems can operate and complement each other. Doing so would benefit all users. Next-generation systems include the European Galileo system, the U.S. GPS-III system, and the Russian GLONASS-K system.

Decisions will need to be made "very soon" if synergistic benefits from these separate systems are to be realized, the report found.

There is no doubt that space-based Earth observation systems play an increasing role in taking the pulse of our planet. Yet connecting such data to the development and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements needs improvement. In many cases, satellite-gleaned data can help nations assess their own environmental goals and to verify compliance, the working group noted.

Despite the decades of work by nations on honing their individual space programs, public awareness about the benefits of space is lacking.

"Although space is integrated into many facets of daily life, the general public's knowledge of, and support for, space activities is not commensurate with the benefits that are derived from space," this working group stated.

That being the case, the group said that space agencies, the aerospace industry, and space-related entities, share a common challenge: "To better communicate the contributions of space to society and share the excitement of space exploration and discovery."

The workshop dealt with "real, actionable issues," said Donald Cromer, Vice Chairman of the California Space and Technology Alliance (CSTA) in Lompoc, California. He served as a general chair for the workshop.

"The international space cooperation agenda was pushed forward as a result of this workshop," Cromer said.

But words in a report must be followed up by action, said Ian Pryke, workshop participant and head of the European Space Agency's Washington office here.

"With the publication of this report, the 'easy' part of the workshop is over," Pryke said. "We now need to work to endeavor to get key recommendations, coming out of our working group deliberations, not merely read but implemented," he told SPACE.com.