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.     

Recent progress on the lunar farside crater Saha proposal

The aim of this review, whose title might as well be “Toward a dedicated lunar farside radio observatory”, is to provide information for potential interested workers whom we invite to contribute to this multidisciplinary effort.First point: in view of the dramatic increase of radio interference due to the development of satellite-based human telecommunications, it will soon become impossible to conduct valuable high-sensitivity SETI observations from the terrestrial ground. It is why a few years ago I started an interdisciplinary and international endeavor to protect for the next 20/30 years a well specified lunar farside crater (Saha) which no Earth- or geostationary orbit-based radio emission could reach.After raising technical, programmatic, legal, astronautical, industrial, political, ethical issues at a number of conferences of international learned institutions, this enterprise is now of interest for the wider field of next generation high-sensitivity radioastronomy at large, from decametric to sub-millimetric waves.This last year, positive results were the creation of an IAA Sub-committee for “A Lunar SETI Study”, the presentation of a Resolution to the IAU for the protection of a potential lunar radio observatory site, discussions at the IAA/IISL Scientific-Legal Roundtable on SETI & Society at IAF Congress in Torino, the organization of a half-day Scientific Event at next COSPAR Assembly in Nagoya and the initiation of an IAA Cosmic Study on the subject.We shall conclude by outlining the next efforts to be initiated up to a real Moon radio observatory.     

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.     

International coordination of space solar power related activities

Because the need for energy is global, and many energy networks are already interdependent, because no one country has sufficient technological capability or sufficient funds to provide a space solar powered solution on its own, and because any such solution will require international regulation, international coordination will be vital to any attempt to produce energy for Earth from space. This will be made easier by the fact that work on the subject has already been widely publicized and distributed and cooperative efforts have already been made. Various coordinating approaches are described and the need to forge partnerships between government, industry and academia — with greater involvement of all non-space groups concerned with energy — is emphasized. A “terracing approach” to the actual implementation of SPS is suggested and outlined.     

Life and intelligence in the universe from nanobiological principles: A survey and budget of concepts and perspectives

The new-born bioscience called Nanobiology has tackled the problems of the possibility of existence of extraterrestrial life and intelligence and of biosystem distribution in the Universe, as such questions actually belong to the realm of Theoretical Biology. The central, and yet unanswered points of such science have been reinvestigated by attempting knowledge and control of the hard-to-determine nanoscale-level classical and quantum interactions, which would supposedly give mechanistic, definite answers, both informationally and energetically, to the vexing questions put by biosystems to science: is the “living state” a physically definible concept, and how to define it? Are nanoscale kinetics or even detailed mechanics involved in the origin of life? What about intelligence, consciousness and their nanophysical roots? Are “life” and “intelligence” engineerable properties, or is any Artificial Intelligence program bound to mere metaphors? Self-organization, studied at the thermodynamic and the hydrodynamic level, showed the possibility of chemical evolution from amino acids, probably of cometary and/or meteoritic origin, up to spatiotemporal organization, autopoiesis and biological evolution, but didn't explain the origins of life. Questioning the uniqueness of the earthly evolutionary chemistry is cardinal for the ETI dilemma, as from a budgetary appraisal of perspectives in bionanoscale chaotic undecidable dynamics, quantum gravity and quantum vacuum, both “living state” and “intelligence” look like nonlocal, spacetime-linked cosmic phenomena.     

X-38, CRV and CRV Evolution Program Overview and European Role

The X-38 Project forms part of the “X” prototype vehicle family developed by the United States. Its development was initiated by NASA to prepare the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV). The European participation in the X-38 Program has been significantly extended since the start of the X-38 cooperation in 1997 and is realized by ESA's “Applied Reentry Technology Program” and the German/DLR “Technologies for Future Space Transportation Systems” (TETRA) Project. European contributions to the X-38 Vehicle 201, (V-201) can be found in all technical key areas. The orbital flight and reentry with the X-38 V-201 will conclude the X-38 project in 2002.The CRV will be used from about mid-2005 as ’ambulance‘, ’lifeboat‘ or as alternate return vehicle for the crew of the International Space Station. Recognizing the very productive and mutually beneficial cooperation established on X-38, NASA and ESA have decided to continue this cooperation into the development of the operational CRV. The Phase C/D will be completed shortly after the Critical Design Review, scheduled for August 2002. The CRV production phase will start in October 2002 and will cover production of four CRV vehicles, ending in 2006.Based on the objective to identify a further evolution potential of the CRV towards a Crew Cargo Transfer Vehicle (CCTV), NASA has implemented upgrade studies in the CRV Phase C/D.     

Technology readiness and risk assessments: A new approach

Systems that depend upon the application of new technologies inevitably face three major challenges during development: performance, schedule and budget. Technology research and development (R&D) programs are typically advocated based on argument that these investments will substantially reduce the uncertainty in all three of these dimensions of project management. However, if early R&D is implemented poorly, then the new system developments that plan to employ the resulting advanced technologies will suffer from cost overruns, schedule delays and the steady erosion of initial performance objectives. It is often critical for senior management to be able to determine which of these two paths is more likely—and to respond accordingly. The challenge for system and technology managers is to be able to make clear, well-documented assessments of technology readiness and risks, and to do so at key points in the life cycle of the program.Several approaches have been used to evaluate technology maturity and risk in order to better anticipate later system development risks. The “technology readiness levels” (TRLs), developed by NASA, are one discipline-independent, programmatic figure of merit (FOM) that allows more effective assessment of, and communication regarding the maturity of new technologies. Another broadly used management tool is of the “risk matrix”, which depends upon a graphical representation of uncertainty and consequences. However, for the most part these various methodologies have had no explicit interrelationship.This paper will examine past uses of current methods to improve R&D outcomes and will highlight some of the limitations that can arise. In this context, a new concept for the integration of the TRL methodology, and the concept of the “risk matrix” will be described. The paper will conclude with observations concerning prospective future directions for the important new concept of integrated “technology readiness and risk assessments”.     

SETI and space law: jurisprudential and philosophical considerations for humankind in relation to extraterrestrial life

The impact of confirmation of life outside the small ecosphere we call Earth will be profound on the terran population as a whole. The “Declaration Of Principles Concerning Activities Following The Detection Of Extraterrestrial Intelligence” and the IAA Position Paper “A Decision Process for Examining the Possibility of Sending Communications To Extraterrestrial Civilizations: A Proposal” provide a firm basis for the development of a new body of space law. It is important that space law design and prepare for implementation of a protocol to guide the nations of the world concerning the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), through the advice and cooperation of scientists, jurisprudential, philosophical, political and sociological scholars. Through the IAA, the IISL, the United Nations and other organizations, formal documentation should be drafted to encode the Declaration of Principles and IAA Position Paper referred to above. In this way, a body of metalaw can be developed to enable human communication with non-terrestrial life. This paper discusses the philosophical and sociological parameters of terran understanding of our place in the universe which will dramatically impact jurisprudential thought and action in light of the realization of the infinitesimally small niche that humankind occupies. A discussion of these interdisciplinary concerns will be necessary to realize a metalegal approach to interstellar communications and relations.     

Potential evolution of an international moon base programme

The Moon is a major target in expanding human activity in Space. President Bush has called for a Space Exploration Initiative. European participation may depend on achieving an affordable programme and identifying distinct elements for non-U.S. participation. Affordability requires that all participants can influence the “cost to user” of Base operations. If lunar activity is to evolve towards resource exploitation, there will need to be a progressive reduction in operating costs. European interest would prefer participation that allowed longer-term independent interests. The paper addresses how non-U.S. agencies could contribute valuable elements to an International Moon Base while meeting three criteria:

• — Keep a core infrastructure under U.S. control.

• — Avoid a total reliance by the partner on U.S. services.

• — Allow the partner to evolve towards an eventual, semi-autonomous or autonomous capability.

The paper illustrates possible implications of meeting these constraints through “mini infrastructures” combining several elements to form a working architecture. It is concluded that any European participation in an International Moon Base Programme should contain both Space transport and surface elements.     

Technology readiness assessments: A retrospective

The development of new system capabilities typically depends upon the prior success of advanced technology research and development efforts. These systems developments inevitably face the three major challenges of any project: performance, schedule and budget. Done well, advanced technology programs can substantially reduce the uncertainty in all three of these dimensions of project management. Done poorly, or not at all, and new system developments suffer from cost overruns, schedule delays and the steady erosion of initial performance objectives. It is often critical for senior management to be able to determine which of these two paths is more likely—and to respond accordingly. The challenge for system and technology managers is to be able to make clear, well-documented assessments of technology readiness and risks, and to do so at key points in the life cycle of the program.In the mid 1970s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) introduced the concept of “technology readiness levels” (TRLs) as a discipline-independent, programmatic figure of merit (FOM) to allow more effective assessment of, and communication regarding the maturity of new technologies. In 1995, the TRL scale was further strengthened by the articulation of the first definitions of each level, along with examples (J. Mankins, Technology readiness levels, A White Paper, NASA, Washington, DC, 1995. [1]). Since then, TRLs have been embraced by the U.S. Congress’ General Accountability Office (GAO), adopted by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and are being considered for use by numerous other organizations. Overall, the TRLs have proved to be highly effective in communicating the status of new technologies among sometimes diverse organizations.This paper will review the concept of “technology readiness assessments”, and provide a retrospective on the history of “TRLs” during the past 30 years. The paper will conclude with observations concerning prospective future directions for the important discipline of technology readiness assessments.     

Legal analysis of the International Space Station (ISS) programme using the concept of “legalisation”

NASA, the initiator of the International Space Station (ISS), is currently reinforcing partnerships with the commercial sector as well as other ISS partner states in preparation for the ISS's operation and utilisation. This gives rise to an urgent need to analyse the ISS's legal framework in order to clearly state its legal merits and shortcomings. This essay presents the advantages and disadvantages of the ISS's legal framework by employing the “legalisation”-based approach. These advantages and disadvantages give us clues for selecting the optimal legal arrangement for the future development of the ISS programme. It will therefore be possible to minimise the risks associated with and to generate profits from ISS activities. This will ensure the effective and coherent implementation of the ISS programme.     

Special regions in Mars exploration: Problems and potential

“Special regions” on Mars are areas designated in the COSPAR planetary protection policy as areas that may support Earth microbes inadvertently introduced to Mars, or that may have a high probability of supporting indigenous martian life. Since absolutely nothing is known about martian life, the operational definition of a special region is a place that may allow the formation and maintenance of liquid water, on or under the surface of Mars. This paper will review the special-regions concept, the implications of recent recommendations on avoiding them, and the work of the Mars science community in providing an operational definition of those areas on Mars that are “non-special.”     

Metalaw and relations with intelligent beings revisited

A body of Metalaw must be recognized or established in order to anticipate the discovery of an incident of intelligent life indigenous to a place or dimension outside the realm and comprehension of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) as understood on the planet Earth. It has been said that the limits of your language are the limits of your world. Recognition of life and communication between intelligent beings is and will be the determining factor in humankind's world of the future. But what is the correct language to use in the search for ETI? Philosophical, legal and sociological realities will govern our future as beings of the universe and beyond. This is a study which must be pursued and perfected to the extent of our abilities prior to the immediacy of our need. Such study was begun many years ago by the best of our scholars but their activities are not well known today. In arguing for the need to proceed with our evolving discoveries of realities and possibilities, this article also brings to light the earlier work of jurists and philosophers on relationships with ETI.     

Tracing the evolutionary path for space technologies

Proliferation and pace of advancing technologies warrant policy and strategic decision-making. Without thinking ahead, companies can loose marketshare and countries can yield comparative advantage. The rate at which burgeoning technologies progress, however, can make it difficult for corporations and governments alike to discern or better anticipate critical junctures in technology developments. This paper presents a conceptual, multidimensional framework, the “evolutionary path”, for understanding the stages of technological development in the civil space area. The analysis draws from three case studies — communications satellites, computers, and launch vehicles — and shows how the implications and developments of new, breakthrough technologies differ from the incremental technology upgrades or the later emergence of interconnected systems and infrastructures.     

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.     

The impact of launch vehicle type and size on development cost

The technical development trend of future launch vehicle systems is towards fully reusable systems, in order to reduce space transportation cost. However, different types of launch vehicles are feasible, as there are

• —winged two-stage systems (WTS)

• —ballistic single-stage vehicles (BSS)

• —ballistic two-stage vehicles (BTS)

The performance of those systems is compared according to the present state of the art as well as the development cost, based on the “TRANSCOST-Model”. The development costs are shown versus launch mass (GLOW) and pay-load for the three types of reusable systems mentioned above.It is shown that performance optimization and cost minimization lead to different results. It is more economic to increase the vehicle size for achieving higher performance, instead of increasing technical complexity.Finally it is described that due to the essentially lower launch cost of reusable vehicles it will be feasible to recover the development cost by an amortization charge on the launch cost. This possibility, however, would allow commercial funding of future launch vehicle developments.     

ESDP and the space sector—defining the architecture and mechanisms for effective cooperation

This paper aims to identify and address key determinants of ESDP in space—political, industrial, research, technology and development (RTD) and procurement issues. It refers to different forms of cooperation serving the security and defence objectives of the EuropeanCommunity but organized beyond it (ESA, OCCAR, LoI, BOC, bi -or multilateral cooperation), attempting to define architecture and mechanisms for effective collaboration that could be applied between all members of the “EU 25”.     

Creating a productive international partnership in the Vision for Space Exploration

When US President George W. Bush on 14 January 2004 announced a new US “Vision for Space Exploration”, he called for international participation in “a journey, not a race”, a call received with skepticism and concern elsewhere. But, after a slow start in implementing this directive, during 2006 NASA has increased the forward momentum of action on the program and of discussions on international cooperation in exploring “the Moon, Mars, and beyond”. There are nevertheless a number of significant top-level issues that must be addressed if a cooperative approach to human space exploration is to be pursued. These include the relationship between utilization of the ISS and the lunar exploration plans, integration of potential partners’ current and future capabilities into the exploration plans, and the evolving space-related intentions of other countries.