Abstract

The entry of private companies into the space sector has posed a critical dilemma: can the “classical framework” meet the needs of the new space economy? On the horizon, there could be problematic inconsistencies between the OST and national laws; the full exploitation of an asteroid, to the point of causing its destruction, may constitute appropriation, prohibited by Article II OST but allowed by the 2015 Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act. The aim of this paper is to analyse the weaknesses within the current framework, as well as to propose new legal solutions. Private enterprises would be placed at the centre of international space law and would assume a status of subjects of international law. The relations between private companies and national agencies would also be organised on a private-contractual model that would facilitate the resolution of disputes, with the possibility of resorting to rapid compensation procedure.