About Me
I am an internationally recognised expert in space governance and space law, with over 16 years’ experience in academia and strategic direction of research centres and NGOs. I have expertise in legal research, legal and policy writing, and a love for teaching those with a thirst to learn. I have published widely on space law and space policy, and I speak often at national and international conferences and high-level fora. I am multi-lingual, and have strong facilitation and interpersonal skills, including the ability to lead teams from diverse disciplines, to direct expert roundtables towards concrete outcomes, and to operate in multiple languages.
Currently I am Deputy Director for Mission Specialists at the Australian National University Institute for Space (InSpace). I also have an independent consultancy practice in space security, space policy and space law.
I have consulted to law firms as well as to the Australian, Canadian and US departments of Defence, and to the Australian Space Agency and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on space law, policy, governance and security issues. I regularly present at the Australian War College and the Australian National University’s National Security College on issues of space security.
I am privileged to have lived, studied and worked in five countries on four continents, which has given me a comparative perspective and an understanding of cultural and regional differences in approach to law and policy. I speak French and Dutch and have a basic understanding of Spanish.
Research Expertise
My research interests focus on space security write large, including space traffic management, space situational awareness, and the law of armed conflict applied to space. I am also researching ways in which Indigenous knowledge about the cosmos, sustainability and law can be integrated into a notion of “good space citizenship” for the long term sustainability of space. My teaching and research on space law and governance also includes how we can learn lessons from the impact of our activities in our near-Earth environment for sustainable governance of our imminent activities on the Moon.
Work Expertise
Formerly I have held positions as Executive Director of Women in International Security (WIIS)-Canada, Acting Executive Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Ethics and Rule of Law, and Executive Director of the McGill Centre for Research in Air and Space Law. My previous academic appointments include Senior Lecturer at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and Senior Lecturer at the ANU College of Law.
From 2016-2020 I was the member for Canada on the International Law Association Space Law Committee. I am an Associate Expert on the Woomera Manual on the International Law of Military Space Operations, and a member of the International Institute of Space Law. I am a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, a member of Women in Aerospace, and Women in Aviation/Aerospace Australia. In 2018-2019 I led the International Space Policy sub-group of the Canadian Space Society Space Policy Committee.
Dr. Cassandra Steer 