Collateral Risk, Episode 1: Who Ultimately Bears the Risk?

Commercial satellites support civilian life, global commerce, humanitarian work, and active military operations. When those roles overlap, who ultimately bears the risk? 

In Episode 1 of Collateral Risk, SSPI Executive Director Tamara Bond-Williams speaks with Dr. Jessica West, Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares, about the risks created when commercial space becomes essential infrastructure for national security. 

West explains why space security must begin with people; why dual use is not a single category; how disruption of space-enabled services can spill into civilian life; and what commercial operators, governments, and international institutions should decide before a crisis. 

In this conversation: 

• Why human impacts and civilian services belong at the center of space security 

• How commercial, civilian, and military uses overlap without becoming one uniform category 

• How targeting and disruption can spill over to civilian users 

• What commercial operators, boards, and governments need to establish before a crisis 

• How contracts, accountability, Article XI, UNOOSA, and debris prevention shape practical restraint