The Strauss Center for International Security and Law is pleased to announce that Connor Sale has been awarded the Aerospace Policy Solutions LLC Award in Space Policy for 2025. This $2000 award, sponsored by Aerospace Policy Solutions LLC, is given to an exceptional UT-Austin student engaged in research related to space policy or interested in pursuing work related to space policy analysis and development after graduation.
“It is exciting to see students like Connor with a dedication to exploring the complex issues in space policy. His work in the interactions between space, defense, and national security highlights the importance of effective space policy research and analysis to shape national priorities,” said Ruth Stilwell, founder of Aerospace Policy Solutions LLC.
Connor Sale is a second-year student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs pursuing his Master of Global Policy Studies, focusing on Space, Defense, and National Security policy. Prior to graduate school, Connor was an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin where he researched the rhetorical development of the Scottish independence movement in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the sentiments of Taiwanese people towards other independence movements and the effect that perspective-taking has on their perceptions of said movements. While at the LBJ School, Connor has researched Iran’s space development and the ways that the nation utilizes both China and Russia to improve its civilian and military space programs. He is excited to turn his expertise in political science research and the European region to work on developing strong multilateral relations between the United States and Europe centered on space. Connor graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in International Relations and Global Studies, Government, Italian Studies, and European Studies.
The University of Texas at Austin has received a $9.3 million seed grant from the Texas Space Commission to establish the Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Tools, Applications, and Processing (TAP) Lab, becoming the first academic institution to work directly with the United States Space Force to detect, analyze, and counter space-based threats in near real time. Space Security, Safety, & Sustainability...
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