Superior, CO (AHN) - A Colorado-based foundation is working on a Code of Conduct for Space to ensure that spacefaring nations can continue to benefit from the national security and economic advantages provided by satellites.

Saying that the world relies on satellite systems orbiting in space for commerce, military security and well-being, Secure World Foundation officials said that the growth of orbital debris is a threat to the security of those orbiting systems.

That makes it important to shape principles that respect the rights of spacefaring nations as well as users of the satellites that operate in space.

Think of it as space traffic management, according to Ray Williamson, Executive Director of Secure World Foundation.

"It's what civilized people do. We operate by all sorts of codes of conduct here on Earth, particularly in ocean operations on the high seas, be they for military or civilian purposes," Williamson said in a statement.

Secure World Foundation has been working on a Code nations that "operate on the high-seas of space" can adapt and has spotlighted that effort in a special edition of it's newsletter "Secure World," the foundation said in a statement released Friday.

A Code is important because a potential loss of services from orbital space systems would affect national and economic security for many nations, so it is crucial that the global community take "more positive steps than it has in the past to reduce the growth of orbital debris," the foundation said in a position paper posted on its websites.

Secure World officials say that work is underway with Non-Government Organization within countries to internationalize the effort to develop a Code of Conduct for Space.

Part of the problem in drafting the document is agreeing on "what constitutes "no harmful interference" of space objects, as well as clarifying what are space weapons, such as anti-satellites," Secure World said in its statement.