In a recent special edition of the T-Minus Deep Space podcast, Aerospace's Brian Weeden discussed with host Maria Varmazis the notion of repealing the Wolf Amendment, a legislative passage that sharply curtails federal cooperation and even coordination with China or any Chinese-owned company. Is this limitation still the right practice? As Weeden explains, it's far from simple.

The conversation centered around a recent paper published by Aerospace's Center for Space Policy and Strategy earlier this year, which you can read here.

"It was our idea to surface arguments on both sides because it is a complicated issue—there is no easy answer," Weeden told Varmazis. "What is the priority? What is the goal?…We shouldn’t be cooperating ‘just because’; we should have a plan."

Yet in an increasingly crowded and complex space environment, coordination is more important than ever in order to avoid collisions, spectrum overlap, and other eventualities that at best impede operations, but could also be considered acts of aggression.

"For me, the other thing to highlight for the audience is what exactly we’re going to be doing. It’s important to keep in mind there is a broad range of options, from direct collaboration on a crewed program like Apollo-Soyuz or ISS, to a broader spectrum of coordination in some places in space where we’re operating alongside one another," Weeden explained. "We need to be thinking about that whole spectrum of interactions and engagements with China, how we’re going to be doing that going forward."

Listen to the full podcast on your platform of choice here, or play it in the video above.