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Marcia Smith

Marcia S. Smith is the founder and editor of SpacePolicyOnline.com and President of Space and Technology Policy Group, LLC (SpaceTech).  Previously she was Director of the Space Studies Board and of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board at the U.S. National Research Council (2006-2009). Before that she was a specialist in aerospace and telecommunications policy at the Congressional Research Service (1975-2006), part of the U.S. Library of Congress, which provides objective, non-partisan research and analysis exclusively for the Members and committees of the U.S. Congress. She also was Executive Director of the U.S. National Commission on Space (1985-1986). A short biography is available here.

Ms. Smith and her consulting company specialize in policy analysis of civil, military and commercial space activities (domestic and international) and other technology areas.

Links to some of her earlier publications and testimony to Congress while she worked at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) are available on SpacePolicyOnline.com under "Marcia Smith's CRS Reports and Testimony on the Web."

A complete list of her publications since 1973 is available here.   Her publications and presentations since spring 2009 when she started her consulting company are listed below in reverse chronological order.

  • Update on Russia, China and India in Space.

      Presentation to the Applied Physics Laboratory/National Air and Space Museum Space History and Policy Forum, December 1, 2011.

  • Interview on The Space Show with David Livingston, November 27, 2011, about space policy issues in Washington

  • John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon, by John M. Logsdon. Book Review. Space Policy, August 2011, pp. 184-185. (Available for purchase through Science Direct -- copyright laws prevent us from posting it on this site.)
  • Russia's "Civil" Space Program: An American Perspective. Presentation to the Secure World Foundation, November 3, 2011
    • Powerpoint slides
    • Link to other presentations and audio recording of entire seminar

    • SpacePolicyOnline.com summary of the seminar by Laura M. Delgado

  • Human Spaceflight Plans of Russia, China and India. Presentation to the Committee on NASA Technology Roadmaps, Panel on Human Health and Surface Exploration of the National Research Council's Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB). June 1, 2011.

  • President Obama's National Space Policy: A Change in Tone and a Focus on Space Sustainability. Space Policy (v. 27, issue 1). February 2011. pp. 20-23. (Available by subscription to Space Policy via Science Direct.)

  • Interview on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston, February 18, 2011, about NASA and Congress.

  • U.S. Space Policy: What Has Changed. Remarks to the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI)/Secure World Foundation (SWF) conference on "The Continuing Story of Europe and Space Security," Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 4-5, 2010.

  • Economics and Security: Resourcing National Priorities -- The U.S Space Program. In: Lloyd, Richmond M. ed. Economics and National Security: Resourcing National Priorities, William B. Ruger Chair Workshop, 19-21 May 2010, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, R.I. September 2010. pp. 245-257.

  • The New National Space Policy: Prospects for International Cooperation and Making Space Safer for All. Transcript of July 1, 2010 Secure World Foundation/Arms Control Association panel discussion with Jeff Abramson, Marcia Smith, Ben Basely-Walker, and Bruce McDonald

  • Interview on The Space Show with David Livingston, April 9, 2010 about Congress and space policy

  • Interview on National Public Radio's Science Friday, February 5, 2010 regarding NASA's dramatic budget announcements in its FY2011 budget request. The discussion about NASA among Science Friday host Ira Flatow and guests Andy Chaikin and Marcia Smith begins approximately 30 minutes into the recording.

    • MP3 file (please be patient while it downloads and then advance to minute 30:00)

  • Space Security: Status and Future Trends. Presentation to the seminar on "Space Security Index 2009: The Status of and Future Trends in Space Security," Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C., Jan. 21, 2010

  • Economic and Societal Benefits of Peace in Space: Today and Tomorrow (with Corinne Jorgenson) Presented to the 4th Eilene M. Galloway Symposium on Critical Issues in Space Law, Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2009. In: Jorgenson, Corinee (ed). Proceedings of the International Institute of Space Law (2009). American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Washington, D.C., 2010. pp. 536-545.

  • Tribute to Eilene M. Galloway. Memorial Service, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2009

  • Aligning Priorities and Budgets. Presentation to the George Washington University Space Policy Institute's Seminar on Aligning Priorities and Budgets, Washington, D.C., June 2, 2009

  • Response Options to Attacks on Space Assets. Presented to the National Defense University's seminar on Impact of the Changing Nature of Deterrence on Space, April 13, 2009, National Defense University, Washington, DC