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Ian Christensen is Director of Private Sector Programs at Secure World Foundation and has eight years of professional experience as a consultant and analyst focused on international and domestic commercial space, satellite, and aviation markets.

Prior to joining SWF, Mr. Christensen worked at leading space-sector consulting firms Futron Corporation and Avascent. In these positions he managed or served in lead analysis roles on market, business planning, and forecasting studies for numerous commercial space sector clients in the United States, Israel, and Europe. For government clients, Ian has provided space-related strategic and analytic services for NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Government of Australia. Mr. Christensen has supported consulting engagements with clients in Australia, Israel, the Isle of Man, Japan, and South Korea; and led in-country work in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Europe, and Japan.

While at Futron Mr. Christensen led a multi-year project for NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, and served for one and a half years on a NASA team tasked with managing the retirement of the Space Shuttle. On behalf of USTDA Ian organized several reverse trade missions and workshops aimed at US export promotion. Mr. Christensen also led an industry research team in support of the annual Space Report, a comprehensive guide to the global space industry published by the Space Foundation.

Prior to Futron, Mr. Christensen was a research assistant at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, a Policy Fellow at the National Academies of Science Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy, and a research assistant at the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center. Read Mr. Christensen's publications.

Mr. Christensen holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) in international science and technology with a focus on space policy from the George Washington University Elliott School for International Affairs. He holds dual Bachelor’s of Science (B.S.) degrees in political science and biochemistry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also completed the International Space University (ISU) 2007 Space Studies Program in Beijing, China.