Ahoy! The first annual Space Piracy Conference is slated for February 11-12, 2025 at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Unfortunately, it seems that the conference isn't for space pirates but rather a place to discuss them.
It's an "invite only symposium that brings together experts prepared to review crime, piracy, and smuggling in space," states the conference website. The organizer is the Center for the Study of Space Crime, Piracy, and Governance, founded by Marc Feldman and Hugh Taylor who are authors of an upcoming book on the topic titled (drumroll, please) Space Piracy.
Although crime and piracy in space are mostly hypothetical issues for now (at least in our immediate orbit) they insist it's crucial to get ahead of what they expect to be a real problem when we become a spacefaring society.
"Now is the time to start thinking and talking about mitigating the threat of piracy in space," Feldman told Space.com. "As we like to say, and please forgive me, Leon Trotsky, but you may not be interested in space piracy, but space pirates are interested in you…"
Arrrrrr you ready for them?
Previously:
• How a bizarre 1970s Arctic killing could help set a legal precedent for space murder
• Book-and-record set for the League of Space Pirates