James A. Vedda, Ph.D.

Senior Policy Analyst, The Aerospace Corporation
Center for Space Policy and Strategy
[email protected]

Dr. James A. Vedda has been with The Aerospace Corporation since March 2004, performing policy research and analyses for various U.S. government customers, including NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Commerce, the Air Force, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, among others.

Prior to joining Aerospace, Vedda worked at ANSER, Inc. During his tenure at ANSER, he supported the Space Policy Directorate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense. From 1987 to 1993, Vedda was a professor in the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota, where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses on civil, commercial, and military space policy. He was one of the founding members of the faculty, helping to create the curriculum for the Master of Science in Space Studies degree. He was associate director of North Dakota’s participation in the NASA Space Grant program, served a term as department chairman, and pioneered the department’s use of multimedia teaching techniques.

Vedda is the author of Choice, Not Fate: Shaping a Sustainable Future in the Space Age, published in December 2009. His writing also has appeared in book chapters and in journals such as Space Policy, Space News, Astropolitics, Space Times, Ad Astra, Space Energy and Transportation, Space Business News, The Journal of Space Law, and Quest. He has presented conference papers for the International Astronautical Federation, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Midwest Political Science Association, the NASA History Office, and the National Air and Space Museum, and commentary for the Public Members Association of the Foreign Service, CNN, and others.

EDUCATION

Vedda has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from John Carroll University; a master’s in science, technology, and public policy from George Washington University; and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Florida.

HONORS AND AWARDS

Vedda has been honored three times by ANSER, Inc.: he received the ANSER Trustees’ Award and Team Excellence Award in 2003, and the ANSER Alan S. Boyd Award in 2002.

AFFILIATIONS

Vedda is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is also a member of the American Astronautical Society; he served as its vice president for public policy from July 2002 to November 2004, and on its board of directors from November 2004 to November 2007.

recent PUBLICATIONS

  • Vedda, J. A., “Climate Change and National Security: Implications for Space Systems,” Crosslink, pp. 6 – 11. Summer 2011.
  • Vedda, J. A., “A National Policy for Exploration and Development,” Space News, pp. 19, 21. Nov. 1, 2010.
  • Vedda, J. A., “An Alternative Road Map to U.S. Space Policy,” Space News, pp. 17 – 18. Feb. 8, 2010.
  • Vedda, J. A., “Challenges to the Sustainability of Space Exploration,” Astropolitics, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 22 – 49. Jan. – April 2008.
  • Vedda, J. A., “It’s Time to Decouple the Moon and Mars,” Space News, pg. 19. Oct. 29, 2007.
  • Vedda, J. A., “The Changing Purpose of the Space Station,” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 34 – 39. Aug. 2006.
  • Vedda, J. A., “Space Power: Congressional Power Over U.S. Civil Space Activities,” Ad Astra, pp. 20 – 23. Jan. – Feb. 2003
  • Vedda, J. A., “Space Tourism Will Become a Reality — But Not Anytime Soon,” Space Times, pp. 8 – 9. Jan – Feb. 2003,
  • Vedda, J. A., “‘W’ in Space: The Story So Far,” Ad Astra, pp. 11 – 15. Nov. – Dec. 2002.
  • Vedda, J. A., “Redefining the Government’s Role: Human Settlement of Space,” Space Times, pp. 22 – 23. Nov. – Dec. 2002.

Books, book chapters, and reports 

  • Vedda, J. A., “Non-Governmental Space Organizations.” The Politics of Space, pp. 143 – 160. Routledge Publishers, 2011.
  • Vedda, J. A., Choice, Not Fate: Shaping a Sustainable Future in the Space Age. Xlibris Corp., 2009.
  •  Vedda, J. A., and D. Turner, “The Impact of Foreign Space Developments on U.S. Defense Policy,” Space and Defense Policy. Routledge Publishers, 2009.
  • Vedda, J. A., “The Role of Space Development in Globalization” Societal Impact of Spaceflight, pp. 193 – 205. NASA History Series, SP-2007-4801, 2007.
  • Vedda, J. A., Long-term Sustainability Risks for Space Exploration, report for the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Dec. 2006.
  • Vedda, J. A., “Space Commerce.” Space Politics and Policy: An Evolutionary Perspective, pp. 201 – 227. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002.
  • Vedda, J. A., The U.S. Congress and the Post-Apollo Civilian Space Program, “The First Twenty-Five Years.” Strategies and Organizations in Transition, Vol. 3, pp. 287 – 313. Elsevier Science Ltd., 2002.