Space Policy Seminar
MIT's graduate seminar examines how space policy decisions get made, pairing technical analysis with political debate. Sessions work through concrete cases: the GPS dilemma over civilian versus military control, the shifting scope of the International Space Station program, the push to launch commercial payloads from foreign soil, and the uncertain future of satellite-based cellular networks. The course traces the historical roots of each controversy before turning to the current policy fight, covering national security space, civil space programs, and commercial space ventures as distinct but overlapping arenas. Materials on MIT OpenCourseWare include the syllabus, readings, and discussion topics used to run the seminar, letting students work through the same case material as MIT's Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems students. No certificate is offered, but the full set of course materials is free to use.