Space in the Digital Era: Security, Competition, and Governance Beyond Earth

Space in the Digital Era: Security, Competition, and Governance Beyond Earth

From Cache Me If You Can by Center for Strategic and International Studies

January 7, 2026 · 30 min

About this episode

This episode explores the evolving landscape of space as a central arena for geopolitical competition and security in the digital age.

In this episode of Cache Me if You Can, we explore how space has become a central arena for geopolitical competition, economic activity, and national security in the digital age. Once dominated by government-led exploration, space, particularly low Earth orbit, is now crowded with commercial actors, new technologies, and emerging security risks that challenge existing rules and norms. Our guest, Audrey M. Schaffer, senior vice president of global policy and government strategy at Slingshot Aerospace and former director for space policy at the National Security Council, draws on her experience across the White House, Department of Defense, State Department, and NASA to unpack today’s evolving space threat environment. We discuss China’s growing space ambitions, the role of commercial satellites in modern conflict, the intersection of AI and space security, and how the United States can lead on governance, sustainability, and norm-setting to protect its competitive edge beyond Earth.

People in this episode

Guest: Audrey M. Schaffer

Topics covered

  • geopolitical competition
  • economic activity
  • national security
  • space governance
  • commercial space
  • AI and space security

Keywords

  • space
  • geopolitics
  • national security
  • commercial satellites
  • AI
  • China
  • governance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Slingshot Aerospace, National Security Council, Department of Defense, State Department, NASA

Places: China, low Earth orbit

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