Registration is the sole basis for “jurisdiction and control” in outer space (Art. VIII OST) and also constitutes the basis for responsibility over a space object. It is therefore evident that ambiguities regarding registration are crucial for the safety of space operations. The discussion about registration has been escalating lately as space is becoming increasingly accessible with the diversification of space subjects. Simultaneously the practice of States indicates reduced diligence in registering their space objects. Initially, the present paper briefly recapitulates the different registries and processes based on the general rule that a launching State shall register a space object set by Art. II of the 1976 Registration Convention. It then turns to current challenges concerning the registration procedure as well as its consequences. Firstly, the term “launching State” is scrutinized, aiming to address several cases of private launches where registration was omitted. Subsequently, the challenges posed by the transfer of ownership of in-orbit space objects are discussed. In this context, it is examined whether there is a rule of international law allowing for the transfer of registration where the registering State has no effective control over an object. Secondly, the paper analyses the notion of “launching State” in light of joint launching and launchings realized by international organizations. It further attempts to answer the relevant question of registration of mega-constellations. The paper concludes by reviewing the possibility of the desirable harmonization and standardization of the registration regime under the Registration Convention, the UNGA Resolution 62/101 and the newly added Guideline 6 of the Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities in light of the aforementioned developments. |
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Report |
The 2018 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court CompetitionCase Concerning Conflicting Activities in Outer Space, Planetary Protection, and Outer Space Security (The Democratic Republic of Neapilia v. The Republic of Kalvion) |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 12 2018 |
Authors | Melissa K. Force |
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Report |
IISL/ECSL Symposium on the occasion of the 57th Session of the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer SpaceVienna International Centre, 9 April 2018 |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 10 2018 |
Authors | Thea Flem Dethlefsen, Heejeong Vicky Jeong and Antonino Salmeri |
Author's information |
Article |
Real-Time Challenges for the Registration Regime: Where to? |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 9 2018 |
Authors | Georgia-Eleni Exarchou, Yvonne Vastaroucha, Pelagia-Ioanna Ageridou, e.a. |
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Article |
Global Space Governance: The Need to Adopt De-institutionalized Cooperation Models |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 9 2018 |
Authors | Jonathan Percivalle de Andrade |
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Article |
Public Investment Law – A Tool to Secure NewSpace Financing? |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 9 2018 |
Authors | Erik Pellander |
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Currently, the space industry is witnessing a commercialisation wave which, at least in parts, can be considered as disruptive. New technology and market trends associated to this commercialisation wave are circumscribed by the term NewSpace. Along with the NewSpace trend, there is a wave of investment in commercial space activities. Favourable framework conditions supporting commercialisation are key factors for investment decisions and the commercial success of companies along the entire value chain. |
Article |
Which Future for the “Global Commons”? |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 9 2018 |
Authors | Kai-Uwe Schrogl |
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The three “global commons (GC)” Antarctica, outer space and the high seas/deep seabed, which do not fall under the sovereignty of States (“State-free”), have become a symbol of peaceful cooperation and coordination of the international community. The international treaties which have already been negotiated from the 1950s show an astonishing degree of foresight concerning common public interest. Today, however, each of the three spaces is at risk in at least one of the following areas: peace and arms control, sustainability of use, and just and fair distribution of resources and benefits. This has gone so far that States have begun questioning the concept of nonappropriation. Could this potentially lead to conflicts – even armed conflicts? A new approach to the preservation and fair management of the GC is therefore necessary and requires appropriate political and diplomatic action. This paper intends to tackle the three GC together in order to identify steps for further developing their governance and to investigate, whether joint diplomatic initiatives for the three GC could be more effective than isolated efforts to deal with single hotspots. It will be argued that the future of the GC lies in the establishment of comparable moratoria, thresholds, fees and codes of conduct drawing from best practices in one or more of the three GC. |
Article |
The Proposed Public Procurement for Projects to Enhance Industrial Capabilities through Japanese Lessons Learned |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 9 2018 |
Keywords | H-IIA, H3, Ariane 6, COTS, public private partnership, procurement |
Authors | Mizuki Tani-Hatakenaka |
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This paper discusses a framework for governmental projects to enhance industrial capabilities through the lessons learned from the Japanese contractual practice of H3 launch vehicle, comparing with the NASA’s Commercial Orbit Transportation Service (COTS). In 1995, the research and development (R&D) of the H-IIA was started by a former body of JAXA, and each manufacturer was responsible for delivery as required. After twelve-times launches, the operation was privatized to Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, Ltd. (MHI). Concerning H3, MHI was selected as a R&D contractor and a launch provider. MHI established the H3 rocket system specification and responsible for delivering the first vehicle to JAXA in 2020, and JAXA is responsible for the total system including its launch base and the H3 flight demonstration. Such a framework gives MHI more creative freedom, but there can be a room for further clarification of the responsibilities. Coincidentally, such a framework between public and private entities is similar to that of the European new flagship launch vehicle, Ariane 6. |
From ESA’s Moon Village to Elon Musk’s Martian cities, there is increasing talk of establishing permanent human settlements or outposts in outer space. November 2018 will mark 18 years of continuous human presence in space via the International Space Station (ISS). However, these new proposals are different for several reasons. They are intended to have a permanence never envisioned for the ISS, they are intended to be ‘home’ to more than professional astronauts and fewer than a handful of space tourists, and they will be located on the Moon and other celestial bodies. The ISS is treated by the existing space law regime as a space object, or an assembly of separate space objects, regarded as functionally no different from any other space object. However, whether this approach could be taken for facilities on the Moon and other celestial bodies is the proposed focus of this paper. None of the space law treaties provide a precise definition of the term ‘space object’, however the generally accepted understanding is that “space objects may be defined as artificial man made objects that are brought into space and are designed for use in outer space.” That is not to lament the lack of a specific definition, as it would most likely be disadvantageous to have been lumbered with the 1967 conception of ‘space object’. The nonspecificity of the treaties allow scope for development and adaptation to deal with the uses now proposed. Article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty potentially provides aid in this quest as it indicates that ‘objects constructed on a celestial body’ fall within the scope of ‘space object’. Therefore, it is most likely possible to construct a regime providing a legal basis for governance of space settlements and outposts utilizing the existing ‘space object’ concept. However, there will still be potential issue around the nonappropriation principle codified in Article II of the Outer Space Treaty. Which this paper will also explore. This is a topic which is vital for the maintenance of the existing space law regime and is of growing relevance as more proposals for permanent human presence are made. |
Article |
Legislating Space - India’s 2021 Space Odyssey |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 9 2018 |
Authors | Jai Sanyal |
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Article |
Owning the Hosted Payload and International Space Law |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 9 2018 |
Keywords | the hosted payload, the launching State, space law, liability |
Authors | Akiko Watanabe |
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This article deals the issues concerning the hosted payload under international space law. To understand the hosted payload projects, the types of the contracts for such projects are discussed, but the harmonization between the risk allocation of the parties concerned and liability issues for damage caused by the hosted payload is mainly studied. |
Article |
Fledgling Polish Space Industry Ready for Lift–OffLaw as a Risk Management Tool in the Emerging Space Sector |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 9 2018 |
Keywords | outer space, space activity, national space law, liability in space law, Polish space law |
Authors | Katarzyna Malinowska |
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This paper presents an overview of recent developments in Poland from a regulatory and institutional point of view, as well as at a programme level. Though Poles played an active part in setting out the foundations of the international space law, largely through the pioneer of space law – Polish Professor Manfred Lachs – for many years the Polish space industry barely existed, consisting only of the activities of a few engineers brave enough to set up start-ups and cooperate with big international players. The situation changed in 2012, when Poland joined ESA as a full member. Joining ESA and opening up the space industry to small players can be perceived as a significant trigger for the boost of Polish space projects. The first results came quickly. The number of Polish companies active in the sector is growing rapidly, already reaching 300 companies, forming a consistent, consolidated group of large, medium and small enterprises. Over the last five years, the attitude of the government has also been changing. |
Article |
The Danger of Space Debris: Legal Issues and Solutions Associated with Active Debris Removal |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 9 2018 |
Authors | Joanna Langlade |
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Article |
Commercial OOS and Its Future: Policy and Legal Issues beyond Life Extension |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 8 2018 |
Keywords | on-orbit servicing (OOS), on-orbit assembly (OOA), on-orbit manufacturing (OOM), active debris removal (ADR), modular spacecraft concepts |
Authors | Olga Stelmakh-Drescher, Ian Christensen and Joerg Kreisel |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Satellites have typically been viewed as high-cost, static platforms that once launched have a limited orbital lifetime and a physical and mechanical structure that cannot be altered or maintained (with very limited exceptions). However, in the current day, a number of technical and market innovations are being deployed by the private sector, which might change this paradigm. These include small satellites, on-orbit assembly (OOA) and modular spacecraft concepts, and on-orbit servicing (OOS) in particular. |
Article |
“Leviathan Lite” - Towards a Global Stewardship Organization for Space Domain Awareness, Conduct, And Remediation |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 8 2018 |
Keywords | Satellite Regulation, Space Traffic Management, Social Contract |
Authors | Harrison E. Kearby, John M. Horack and Elizabeth K. Newton |
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This paper examines the dimensions, legal and policy implications, and ramifications of a proposed International Space Situational Awareness Organization (ISSAO), whose charter would be to provide leadership for international and collaborative stewardship of the space environment in LEO and beyond. As ever more satellites, rockets, and space stations are launched into space, the need for debris tracking, debris remediation, orbital traffic deconfliction, and definitions of ‘best practices in caretaking the space environment’ grow. Current organizations and programs are successful, at least to some extent, in educating the world on the potential dangers of space debris, and the importance of space situational awareness, yet they have little legal or political standing to provide enforcement, compliance, or remediation. Many global discussions related to space situational domain awareness have called for a cooperative international effort to create guidelines, if not charter an organization tasked with the stewardship of the space environment. Here, we examine important precedents set forth in international law and cooperation, and apply these to a proposed comprehensive body to steward space situational awareness and debris mitigation. We elucidate the requirements, enforceable powers, and probable limits of such an organization as well as important questions to be answered prior to establishment of such a body. |
Article |
Regulatory Aspects in Launch Services Contracts for Small SatellitesSuccessful Docking in Legal Space? |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 8 2018 |
Authors | Kang Duan |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The United Nations space treaties establish the basic legal framework governing outer space activities. While it is through national space legislation that the spirit and schemes in these treaties are further instilled into specific entities undertaking space activities, launch services contracts play a notable role in final stage of rendezvous and docking with the legal infrastructure at international level. For example, allocation of risk/liability mechanism in these contracts is deeply influenced by treaty provisions and national legislation. These arrangements seem to be made all the more complicated in the context of international launch projects. Growing demand from the small satellite sector for ride hitching opportunities in space launch begs the question of whether and how the launch service contracts need to be tailored to accommodate industry demand and regulatory needs. This paper purports to examine some of the regulatory issues surrounding risk/liability management under standard and piggyback launch services contracts, which reflect deliberate compliance on micro-level with the international and national legal framework on macro-level. |
Article |
The Principle of Non-Appropriation and the Exclusive Uses of LEO by Large Satellite Constellations |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 8 2018 |
Keywords | Non-Appropriation Principle, LEO, Exclusive Use, Large Satellite Constellation, Mega Constellation |
Authors | Yuri Takaya-Umehara, Quentin Verspieren and Goutham Karthikeyan |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Newly proposed projects of large satellite constellations are challenging the established business models of the satellite industry. Targeting the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), already the most populated orbit for space applications, these constellations pose an increasing risk regarding the sustainable use of outer space. According to the Inter- Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), presenting at the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the UN COPUOS in 2018, the implementation level of the IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines in LEO is considered as “insufficient and no apparent trend towards a better implementation is observed", when compared with GEO. In parallel, 11 private entities such as OneWeb, Telesat and SpaceX have applied for approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to initiate large satellite constellation projects. |
Article |
A New Approach to National Laws Aimed at Encouraging Small Satellites’ Space Activities |
Journal | International Institute of Space Law, Issue 8 2018 |
Authors | Helena Correia Mendonça, Magda Cocco and Cristina Melo Miranda |
Author's information |