Arms control and disarmament in space: the rough road to Vienna 1984 : Part II

This article continues a detailed examination of the international legal and diplomatic questions relating to arms control and disarmament, focusing on space-based activities. These are importantly concerned with the development of anti-satellite (ASAT) systems and ballistic missile defence (BMD). This part of the article considers the US Presidential-Congressional dialogue - particularly the ASAT testing issue - and Presidential initiatives vis-à-vis the USSR. An epilogue to the original paper considers the diplomatic moves and policy shifts which contributed to the January 1985 US-Soviet meeting and the agreement to begin bilateral negotiations to consider space and nuclear arms.     

The NASA programme in the 1990s and beyond

This article is an edited summary of a report on the future work of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration published in May 1988 by the US Congress's Congressional Budget Office. It considers whether NASA will be able to undertake new and ambitious initiatives in the coming decades, or instead hold its spending to current real levels, thus limiting US international leadership in space activities.     

The land remote sensing commercialization Act of 1984

This article examines the effect that private-sector remote sensing activities might have on the international community and on the future of international cooperation in space. It describes in detail The Land Remote Sensing Commercialization Act of 1984, recently passed by the US Congress and signed by President Reagan. The article concludes that it is possible to develop domestic regulations that balance the economic interests of the private sector with the legal and political concerns of the international community.     

The risks and impacts of space weather: Policy recommendations and initiatives

Space weather affects global technological systems and societies. Space weather, or the dynamic conditions on the Sun and in the space environment and their impacts on technological systems, can produce coronal mass ejections, solar energetic particles, and geomagnetic disturbances. These space weather events can cause extreme currents in the electric grid, widespread blackouts, and phone and internet communication failures both in space and within the Earth's atmosphere. Severe space weather can damage satellites used for global positioning, communications, and weather forecasting. It also creates a risk of radiation exposure to astronauts and commercial airline crews and passengers. Accurate forecast knowledge of the space weather threat and timing of events is critical to planning and preparation to minimize socioeconomic impacts. This paper reviews the scope of the space weather threat on the global community today. It describes current international and US public policy initiatives to mitigate risk to infrastructure, public safety, and human life. It examines recent international reports and US federal disaster reduction plans to meet these challenges and provides recommendations to increase public awareness and implement public policies to prepare, prevent, and recover from possible catastrophic failures of commercial and government infrastructures caused by a major space weather event.     

Space commercialization and the law

This article examines the current legal status of commercial activities in space and describes the legislation — both national and international — existing for their regulation. The question of who is responsible for the action of non-governmental entities is thoroughly discussed, as is the notion of freedom of enterprise. Finally the author looks at the most commercialized areas of space activities — telecommunications and Earth observations — before drawing some conclusions on likely future trends in the privitization and regulation of space activities.     

US export controls and Canadian autonomy to collaborate on international space missions

Canada is a space power with unique technical niches that support opportunities for collaboration on space technologies. When U.S.-origin space technologies are involved Canada's ability to collaborate internationally may be conditional on US law and policy. As a result, US export control law can be directly linked to the success or failure of Canadian collaboration. This article examines the strategic impact of U.S. export controls on Canadian autonomy to collaborate on international missions, including multi-use missions. Canadian space export control policy is also examined more broadly with the goal of providing specific policy recommendations that will enhance Canada's future as an international space actor.     

Remote sensing of natural resources : Legal and political considerations for the Third World

A state's posture on remote sensing of the Earth by orbiting satellites varies depending upon whether it is a ‘sensing’ or a ‘sensed’ state, upon its present economic status, and upon its economic and political history. This article considers the international legal questions related to remote sensing and discusses the political aspects with special emphasis upon the views of the Third World. The author concludes that, unless Third World states and others who support them alter their views somewhat, it is probable that remote sensing of natural resources will continue without specific legal guidelines.     

Changing patterns of international cooperation in space: The Soviet factor

The new Soviet glasnost regarding international cooperation in space will clearly be one of several factors affecting traditional patterns of cooperation in the future. This article examines how the Soviet posture towards cooperation in international space ventures has changed, why the changes have occurred, and the probable consequences of those changes on traditional patterns of international cooperation in space.     

Prospects for a European space administration

This paper addresses legal issues relating to the relationship between ESA and the EU. At present, several policy options are being discussed on how the two international organisations might enhance their cooperation in order to allow Europe's space activities to become more efficient and more competitive. The political options can be classified into four models, each having its specific implications concerning institutional and substantive legal questions. It becomes equally apparent that any cooperation of the two organisations will have certain effects on the funding of space programmes. The paper outlines the various models against the background of the latest policy developments and gives an overview of the possible implications of the models.     

India''s space policy : A developing country in the ‘Space Club’

Athough a poor nation with limited resources, India has spent large amounts of money on sophisticated space programme. It is pursuing a policy of using high technology to solve the country's social and economic problems, and at the same time to strengthen its international position. Satellite-aided communications, educational programmes, meteorology and resources survey and management are thus priority areas. This article examines the history and achievements of India's space programme, and considers the constraints faced and budget and staffing plans. Foreign policy and national security aspects are covered in detail, including the question of whether India's peaceful space policy can be put to military use.     

Outer space exploitability: International law and developing nations

This article outlines the principles upon which international space law is based. Space law has been successful so far in benefiting the developing countries without hampering the spacefaring nations. The principal treaty provisions that are of special interest to developing nations are discussed, and issues associated with remote sensing, communications and environmental harms are examined in detail. Since 1967 there has been a sharp change in the focus of legal concern towards ‘taking into account the particular needs of developing countries’, a principle that will be central to arrangements for the equitable sharing of the benefits of exploiting the space environment and its natural resources.     

Private property rights on asteroid resources: Assessing the legality of the ASTEROIDS Act

On June 10, 2014, a bill proposing to establish and protect (private) property rights on asteroid resources was introduced in the US House of Representatives.Regardless of its effective chances to become law, the presentation of the Bill raises numerous legal questions, particularly concerning the status of extraterrestrial natural resources and the consistency of what the Bill suggests with international space law.The purpose of the present viewpoint is to address and clarify the above questions.     

Between heaven and earth: The legal challenges of human space travel

Since the first space object was launched into orbit in 1957, humankind has been engaged in a constant effort to realise ever more ambitious plans for space travel. Probably the single most important element in this ongoing evolution is the development of technology capable of transporting large numbers of passengers into outer space on a commercial basis. Within the foreseeable future, space will no longer be the sole domain of professionally trained astronauts or the exceptionally wealthy.The prospects for both suborbital and orbital private human access to space give rise to some interesting and difficult legal questions. It also opens up an exciting opportunity to develop an adequate system of legal regulation to deal with these activities. The existing international legal regimes covering air and space activities are not well suited to large-scale commercial access to space, largely because they were developed at a time when such activities were not a principal consideration in the mind of the drafters. The lack of legal clarity represents a major challenge and must be addressed as soon as possible, to provide for appropriate standards and further encourage (not discourage) such activities.This article will examine some of the more pressing legal issues associated with the regulation of space transportation of passengers on a commercial basis, seen in the light of Article 1 of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which states that the ‘exploration and use of outer space […] shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries […] and shall be the province of all mankind’. An appropriate balance must be found between the commercial and technological opportunities that will arise and the principles upon which the development of international space law have thus far been based.     

Legal analysis of Sea Launch license: National security and environmental concerns

This paper analyzes the national security and environmental concerns surrounding the Sea Launch consortium's international license from a legal perspective. The growing market demand for a more affordable, reliable, and convenient commercial satellite launching service has led to the idea of Sea Launch—launching satellites from the sea near the Equator. However, this can pose potential conflicts between national security and foreign policy interests, and between environmental conservation and economic growth because of the international technology development issues around launching from the sea. This paper illustrates a case for balancing such multiple constraints via legal interpretation. The analysis is conducted in reference to 49 U.S.C. § 70101–70119 Commercial Space Launch Activities and 42 U.S.C. § 4321–4345 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. The paper also examines weather the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is binding on Sea Launch operations. Although the scope of this paper is limited mostly to the US law and the national security and environmental aspects of Sea Launch, it provides a useful example for policy making of an international collaborative technology development project.     

Stepping stones to the future: Achieving a sustainable lunar outpost

The current emphasis in the US and internationally on lunar robotic missions is generally viewed as a precursor to possible future human missions to the Moon. As initially framed, the implementation of high level policies such as the US Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) might have been limited to either human lunar sortie missions, or to the testing at the Moon of concepts-of-operations and systems for eventual human missions to Mars [White House, Vision for Space Exploration, Washington, DC, 14 January, 2004. [1]]. However, recently announced (December 2006) US goals go much further: these plans now place at the center of future US—and perhaps international—human spaceflight activities a long-term commitment to an outpost on the Moon.Based on available documents, a human lunar outpost could be emplaced as early as the 2020–2025 timeframe, and would involve numerous novel systems, new technologies and unique operations requirements. As such, substantial investments in research and development (R&D) will be necessary prior to, during, and following the deployment of such an outpost. It seems possible that such an outpost will be an international endeavor, not just the undertaking of a single country—and the US has actively courted partners in the VSE. However, critical questions remain concerning an international lunar outpost. What might such an outpost accomplish? To what extent will “sustainability” be built into the outpost? And, most importantly, what will be the outpost's life cycle cost (LCC)?This paper will explore these issues with a view toward informing key policy and program decisions that must be made during the next several years. The paper will (1) describe a high-level analytical model of a modest lunar outpost, (2) examine (using this model) the parametric characteristics of the outpost in terms of the three critical questions indicated above, and (3) present rough estimates of the relationships of outpost goals and “sustainability” to LCC. The paper will also consider possible outpost requirements for near-term investments in enabling research in light of experiences in past advanced technology programs.     

Satellite communications and the Internet: implications for the outer space treaty

The speedily expanding Internet is in the process of transforming the technological, economic, and policy bases for nation-state regulation of telecommunications, including space-based satellite networks. Deployment of the packet-switched Internet has accelerated the liberalization of telecommunications markets and has led to far-reaching regulatory restructuring and policy shifts regarding state ownership and control of networks and information flows. As space-based GMPCS networks become integral parts of the globalizing Internet infrastructure, the state-centric legal paradigm requiring state “authorization and continuing supervision” of space activities by “non-governmental entities” stipulated under Article VI of the OST and associated treaties forming the outer space legal regime will be called increasingly into question. This paper examines the technological, economic/trade, and security issues that question whether the existing state-centric paradigm for regulating Internel-based GMPCS satellite systems will remain in legal phase with emerging liberalized regulatory regimes for terrestrial Internet-based infractructures.     

Regulating ISS— An interdisciplinary essay

The International Space Station (ISS) is a multifaceted international project. Several space agencies from different countries work together in the Outer Space. This paper will illustrate the exciting questions arising from such a venture and therefore the challenge to incorporate a variety of issues into a legal order. The Paper is addressed to lawyers who need not necessarily be experts in space law, and also to space experts who have no legal background. It demonstrates the three layers of the ISS regime—from the “Intergovernmental Agreement” (IGA) as a “frame” with pillars and boundaries, over the “Memoranda of Understanding” (MOU) which rules in a more specific way, to the so-called “Implementing Arrangements” regulating the overall and single aspects of ISS in detail.The paper underlines questions of applicable jurisdiction, utilization rights and the rights on intellectual property onboard of the ISS. Furthermore the problem of liability in space flight is highlighted, also with a view to the different aspects of the liability issue, for example (internal) liability caused by programme delays (e.g. US Space Shuttle delays).In conclusion, the paper illustrates the situation of astronauts by the “Code of Conduct for the International Space Station Crew” and provides an example for the actual ISS Programme—an international cooperation in a highly demanding environment which will be a basis for future space ventures in many ways.     

The US civil space sector: alternate futures

The initiation of a new vision for exploration, as articulated by US President George W. Bush on 14 January 2004, has excited much interest. This article analyzes the dynamics and potential for changes in the processes and participants in future space policy and space exploration activities. It examines a range of possible alternative paths for NASA and the US government's space exploration activities, the international space community and the private sector in the articulation and pursuit of future space exploration endeavors. It concludes that the new vision for exploration brings about both an opportunity and indeed a necessity for movement towards new and innovative methods and institutions for the effective conduct of multidimensional and multilateral space exploration activities in the future.     

Consideration of space activities by the UN general assembly

The thirty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly affirmed ‘that complete and general disarmament warrants that outer space should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and that it shall not become an arena for an arms race’.This text appears in the first of two important resolutions concerning outer space adopted by the General Assembly during its last session. Also in the first resolution, entitled ‘Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space’ (A/39/59 of 12 December 1984), the Assembly called upon all states, particularly those with major space capabilities, to contribute actively to the objective of the peaceful uses of outer space and to take immediate measures to prevent an arms race in outer space in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international cooperation and understanding.     

Soviet proposals on the militarization of space

The USSR has submitted several proposals to the United Nations in recent years which are aimed at avoiding the militarization of outer space. This article examines three of the proposals and evaluates them in the context of existing treaties, to see whether or not they could resolve the political and legal problems which might arise. The reactions of the United Nations General Assembly and individual nations are also considered. The author concludes that several questions regarding the military aspects of space activity are left unresolved by the Soviet proposals.