International cooperation in space : Enhancing the world's common security

Instead of preparing for space warfare, the USA could make tremendous use of space activities to enhance global security. Arms control verification, environmental monitoring and international cooperation on space missions are important examples. International space year, 1992, could be the time to launch a triumphant effort such as an international mission to Mars.     

International cooperation and competition in civilian space activities

This article considers how the USA can best maintain its commercial and governmental competitiveness in space, while facilitating private investment and international marketing, and at the same time keeping up significant cooperation with other nations. The current state of US civilian space activities in each of these areas is summarized, and several alternative solutions are presented. The article concludes that strengthening US competition with other space-capable nations, and improving US ability to cooperate effectively, will require careful coordination of the activities of federal agencies with each other and with the private sector.     

International cooperation in space: the AIAA–IAC workshops

Over the past decade the International Activities Committee (IAC) of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has organized a series of six workshops on international space cooperation. The major findings and recommendations that have emerged from these workshops are summarized, clustered by topic, with a reference to the report on the particular workshop at which they were made. The authors comment on the relevance of certain of the findings in today's environment and the status of implementation of associated recommendations.     

Prospects for Euro-Indian space cooperation

This is the executive summary of a report prepared for the European Commission by LD consultants on the status of India's space industry and the prospects for European firms to invest in it. India has impressive launch capabilities, telecommunications and disaster warning satellites but commercialization of its activities is occurring only slowly. There are many opportunities for joint ventures with Europe (which must not let the USA consolidate its superior position in the broadcasting field) but issues of technology transfer and India's unhappiness with the MTRC must first be resolved. As well as selling products and services, Europeans should also be prepared to buy those Indian components that are available more competitively.     

A model for multinational space cooperation

It is becoming increasingly clear that space activities can benefit from international cooperation, but concerns about national interests remain. This article examines the experience of the Inter-Agency Consultative Group (IACG), which achieved striking success in coordinating the efforts of the USA, the USSR, the European Space Agency and Japan to study Halley's Comet. Subsequently the IACG has undertaken a new project, focused on solar-terrestrial science, and further expansion could follow. However, tje group's success has depended on scrupulous respect for members' national autonomy, and so it is unlikely to herald the formation of a supranational space agency in the near future.     

Modeling international cooperation for space exploration

Space exploration into the twenty-first century is contingent upon the ability of states to forge an appropriate vehicle for international cooperation. A theoretical framework that explains international cooperation in space exploration is proposed. This framework encompasses scientific, technological, political, and economic initial conditions, state and nonstate political actors, and models of cooperation that explain how initial conditions and actors interact to realize cooperative outcomes. It is hypothesized that the prevailing initial conditions favor certain political actors over others which, in turn, promote a specific model of cooperation. Cooperative policy outcomes are examined and assessed vis-à-vis case studies of cooperation in space exploration. On this basis, policy recommendations that engender effective cooperative outcomes in space exploration are suggested.     

A failure of international space cooperation: the International Earth Observing System

This paper examines the failure of the Earth Observation International Coordination Working Group to implement an International Earth Observation System. Tracing the history of both the Group and the mission concept, it explains the political and organizational failures that took place. It shows that these failures were linked to different approaches to international cooperation in Earth observation data policy. The main points of contention existed between Working Group members, NASA and ESA. NASA favored formal and binding legal arrangements, while ESA preferred to avoid institutionalized legal commitments. Success in coordinating and harmonizing data policy on a multilateral basis for Earth observation missions is more likely to be achieved by pursuing agreement on general principles and terms of reference than by seeking specific legal agreements.     

Europe's space plans and opportunities for cooperation

This is a slightly abridged and edited version of the welcoming speech made by European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen at the ‘Winning through co-operation: sharing the benefits of space’ conference held in Brussels on 17–18 February 2005 as part of European Space Week. The importance of space for Europe across many areas—now explicitly acknowledged by the European Commission—is highlighted. Future initiatives are discussed and the Union's approach to international cooperation is outlined. It was hoped that the conference would provide an opportunity for participants to identify the best opportunities for partnership in space.     

Promoting ASEAN space cooperation

In the 21st century space activities are having an ever greater influence on global society, economics, culture and the environment; they are becoming a key tool of sustainable development. However, for many individual developing countries, including those in Southeast Asia, there actually are many obstacles to participating in the space field. Therefore in order to promote sustainable space development and to solve space conflicts within the region, all Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) nations should embark on greater regional space cooperation as soon as possible. Because regional space cooperation can assure equal rights to space benefits, it does not limit returns only to the first beneficiary or the first user to receive space benefits. In the end, the total space benefits will be spread to other cooperating countries equally.     

Prospects for international space cooperation in the Pacific Basin

This article examines the possible avenues of cooperation in space activity between nations of the Pacific Basin. It looks at possible memebers of a regional space organization and their areas of common interest. The European Space Agency is suggested as a model, and some of the useful lessons that could be learned from it, as well as significant differences between the European and Pacific regions, are discussed.     

A new paradigm for international cooperation in space exploration

In announcing a new Vision for the US space program, President George Bush committed the USA to “a long-term human and robotic program to explore the solar system”, via a return to the Moon, leading to exploration of Mars and other destinations. He also stated that other nations would be invited to join the vision. Many other nations have, or are developing, ‘exploration visions’ of their own. The potential for international cooperation therefore exists, both at the vision and program/project levels. This paper, based on Working Group discussions as part of an AIAA space cooperation workshop,¹ presents an approach for maximizing the return on all global investments in space exploration. It proposes an international coordination mechanism through which all these various national activities could be integrated into an inherently global enterprise for space exploration, a ‘virtual program of programs’. Within the context of the coordination, individual activities would utilize the full range of cooperative mechanisms for implementation. A significant benefit of this mode of conducting cooperation is that it would not require the negotiation of complex overarching international agreements as a precondition for initiating international activity.     

International cooperation in space — new opportunities, new approaches : An assessment

Now that the Cold War is over, the authors of this Viewpoint believe that in the interests of the USA as well as the rest of the world international cooperation should become a more fundamental element of US space policy. Cooperative agreements will not always be easy to reach and will require creative statecraft. To that end the USA should take the initiative in establishing a high-level international policy forum to facilitate discussions on the main goals and objectives to be served by international cooperation in space.     

A new setting for international space cooperation?

The year 2004 could be seen as the turning point for the realignment of international space cooperation for the 21st century. At the very core of this readjustment, the US space exploration initiative strives to define a new scheme for such a broad array of aspects as international scientific cooperation, the role of the space industry and the organizational framework for international space applications. This paper argues that the success of this new outline of international space cooperation depends on several conditions. First, the US initiative needs to demonstrate its long-term continuity and reliability for international partners, which will depend to no small degree on the future of the ISS and its utilization for international research. Second, international cooperation between industrial partners will continue to need political frameworks and depend on a balanced handling of know-how partnerships. Third, cooperation in space applications will need a truly international structure to further its global acceptance and outreach.     

Transparency and confidence-building measures for space security

Transparency and confidence-building measures (TCBMs) are a set of tools designed to display, predict and discipline states’ behaviour with respect to maintaining the security of space. With intentional and unintentional threats to the peaceful use of space on the rise, there is a growing international consensus on the need for greater transparency in space-related activities as well as confidence-building measures to reduce the prospects of disruption to the ever-expanding role of space in our day-to-day lives. Terrestrial TCBMs can serve as a guide to understanding what political arrangements are possible in space, including certain precedents in the areas of arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament. At the same time, current and emerging challenges in space - including orbital space debris, risk of collisions, growing saturation of the radiofrequency spectrum, the crowding of satellites in geostationary (GEO) orbit and threat of purposeful disruption - need to be evaluated in the context of unilateral, bilateral, multilateral and private initiatives to increase space situational awareness and security. This paper describes and evaluates various prospective TCBMs alongside current proposals to advance safety and security in space, including the EU Draft Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. It offers specific recommendations, arguing that Europe is uniquely qualified to negotiate a 21st century TCBM architecture thanks to its history of diplomacy and ability to identify common ground among disparate parties. This will only happen, however, with a more defined institutional design and the EU’s emergence as a global civilian leader.     

International law-making for outer space

While the need for adequate space law may be as urgent as ever, the international community has discovered that today it is increasingly difficult to reach consensus on statutes to govern new space activities. In view of the noticeable slowdown in the law-making process, serious discussions about the most suitable and effective techniques of space legislation are required. The author discusses the political and legal problems of making laws to deal with space and space activities. A number of suggestions aimed at improving the present legislative process are formulated.     

Organizing space cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region

The time for regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region is now ripe. Steps have been taken towards this via a workshop sponsored by China - previously wary of cooperation but now seeming to acknowledge that, along with interested countries, it could contribute more to space in the region. The author examines areas of shared interest over which parties might collaborate and the best way to achieve this: a gradual approach emulating the development (but not the present configuration) of ESA is recommended. Finally, he examines the legal framework within which cooperation might function, using a liaison committee to formulate and coordiante proposals. Action must be taken now if the region is not to fall behind in the development of space technologies.     

Improving international space cooperation: Considerations for the USA

In 2000 there were 40 different countries that had registered space agencies. By 2009 that number had continued to grow to 55. This article discusses how cooperation allows a nation to leverage resource and reduce risk; improve global engagement; and enhance diplomatic prestige of engaged states, political sustainability and workforce stability. The obstacles and impediments to cooperation are substantial, and are manifested through various anti-collaborative behaviors. To achieve success, these obstacles and impediments must be understood and confronted. The article examines the substantial challenges posed by technology transfer constraints, international and domestic politics, and exceptionalism perspectives. Given the imperative to cooperate, four frameworks (cooperation, augmentation, interdependence, and integration) can be employed to overcome these challenges and achieve success.     

Brazilian-Chinese space cooperation: an analysis

This paper aims to examine some of the most important juridical issues raised during the short, but rich, history of Brazilian-Chinese space cooperation. It tries to assess the effectiveness of the agreements signed by these countries on space matters.At the same time, it seeks to present the political and legal concepts which founded the main phases of this history.