Space law

Space law is the body of international and national regulations that govern human activities in outer space. The concept of space law was first considered in the early twentieth century, as manned flight became a reality. After the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into orbit in 1957, the international community banded together to develop a system of laws governing space. The regulations dealt with issues such as property rights, protection of astronauts, and the presence of weapons in space. In the years that followed, space exploration has evolved to include private corporations and commercial human spaceflight, and has created new challenges in the field of space law.

Background

Almost as soon as humankind invented machines that could fly, they also developed a system of laws to govern the skies above Earth. The Paris Convention on the Regulation of Aerial Navigation of 1919 ruled that a country's sovereignty extended into the airspace above each nation. At the time, that boundary ended at the upper reaches of the planet's atmosphere, but some legal experts began to think about the future exploration of that region. In 1910, a Belgian lawyer felt that humans would one day need a system of jurisdiction over the "layer of ether" around Earth. He developed the term law of space to refer to that system. In the 1920s, Russian legal experts discussed defining the altitude at which international laws ceased to apply.

Despite early considerations of establishing a separate law for space, no definitive action was taken. The prevailing legal opinion of the era was that a nation's airspace continued upward into Earth orbit. That idea changed after October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite into orbit. Sputnik not only sent a message that the Soviets had beaten Americans into space, but it also raised the possibility that the Soviets had broken international law. Since Sputnik orbited around Earth about once every hour and a half, it passed over the airspace of a number of countries without permission. Wanting to maintain its own right to fly satellites over Soviet airspace, the United States did not challenge the Soviet Union on the legality of Sputnik. The launch, however, opened the eyes of the international community to the need for laws governing spacecraft.

Overview

Concerned that space would become another Cold War battlefield for the United States and Soviet Union, the United Nations (UN) in 1958 formed the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) to discuss international concerns relating to the subject. COPUOS developed a number of legal principles designed to govern the use of outer space, and in 1967, it turned these principles into the first treaty dealing with space law. Known informally as the Outer Space Treaty, the agreement set up a basic legal framework for exploration of space. The treaty's most important points established that space is free for all humanity to explore and sovereign claims cannot be made. For example, no nation can stake a claim to the moon or any other space body. Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction were prohibited in Earth orbit or on any celestial body. Individual nations were to be held responsible for any damage caused by the objects they launched, and were also responsible for the actions of their citizens while in space.

The United Nations built upon the Outer Space Treaty by developing four supporting agreements during the 1960s and 1970s. The Rescue Agreement of 1968 established rules for handling emergency landings and astronaut assistance in space. The Liability Convention was signed in 1972 and mandated financial responsibilities in the case of damage or loss of life from space objects. The Registration Convention of 1975 set up guidelines for registering objects launched into space in an effort to keep track of orbiting debris. In 1979, the Moon Agreement refined the legal framework concerning property rights in space.

As technology and space capabilities evolved over the decades, the UN attempted to keep up by adding new legal principles to its existing space law. In the 1980s, it implemented regulations mandating non-interference with broadcast satellite signals and set rules for using satellites to monitor Earth's surface resources. As nuclear-powered spacecraft became more prevalent in the 1990s, the UN devised guidelines dealing with the impact of a possible accident or release of radiation. In 1996, the UN reaffirmed its commitment to space exploration benefiting all humanity, putting emphasis on its use in helping developing nations. While all UN treaties and actions are nonbinding, space-faring nations are often pressured by the international community to adhere to the agreements.

In the twenty-first century, international law faced several new hurdles brought about by the entry of private corporations into the space business and the proliferation of satellites in orbit. By 2024, several companies, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, were able to launch private individuals into space. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) established some safety and licensing guidelines for commercial human spaceflight, but the issue of potential liability, passenger consent, and national registration of spacecraft remained outstanding legal issues. The US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (CSLCA) enacted in 2015 exempted private space companies from US government regulation until 2023. The act also extended the learning period restrictions that limit the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s ability to enact regulations about the safety of spaceflight participants.

The largest impact of the CSLCA, however, was on the issue of ownership of asteroids—large chunks of rock orbiting the sun. The bill allowed American companies to mine and extract resources from these celestial bodies. The provision was criticized by some nations as breaking the Outer Space Treaty's ban on extending national sovereignty into space. The United States countered by saying the companies would not be staking an ownership claim to the asteroid, but only removing minerals and other resources from the object's surface.

Another legal issue concerned the amount of orbiting space debris circling Earth. Legislation passed in the 1970s was never meant to account for the more than one hundred million objects and pieces of human-made debris in orbit as of 2024. While existing law held countries responsible for negligence regarding the satellites they launched, the majority of objects currently in orbit are no longer functioning and unable to be controlled. Legal liability for these "dead" objects was unclear.

Bibliography

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Howell, Elizabeth. "Who Owns the Moon? Space Law & Outer Space Treaties." Space.com, 27 Oct. 2017, www.space.com/33440-space-law.html. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.

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