Let's Talk About Space Laws: What, When and How?

Introduction to Space Law and Current Challenges

Synopsis - The article talks about evolvement in the field of space and how it led to creation of space law. The article further talks about the current treaties related to space law and some key issues which makes it weak and non-binding. The article further talks about the rising of private entities and the issue this rise brings with it, some possible solutions to the same has been pointed out.

"Earth is a small town with many neighbourhoods in a very big universe." Ronald J.Garran Jr

Human have always been known to explore, to discover, and the same has made mere mammals into an advanced species we know. As Ronald J. Garran Jr. describes very aptly, we are just a small part of this whole wide universe. The hankering to explore more has led us to explore the boundaries of the universe which are illimitable according to a lot of people.

There has been a constant rise in efforts to explore the outer space right from the time USSR launched its 1st ever artificial satellite in October of 1957. As a field advance in discovery and moves in the path to find its depth and limits, it is very important to superintend this growth and speed. Any kind of advancement needs law to make sure the power which comes with these advancements are not misused by someone and the resources discovered are used in a regulated way.

With heavy spending on constant efforts to discover more of space right from 1960s it became quite clear that space could be used as a resource.It’s limitless and have endless opportunity to provide mankind with the giant leap as Neil Armstrong quotes.

There was growing concern among different activists, lawmakers and organization about the megalithic exploitation of space, if not regulated could result in problems. The concept of space law though has been around right from 1919 with international law recognizing each country's sovereignty over the airspace directly above their territory.

As the space race grew in the 1950s, scientists and governments began to talk about the need for responsible behaviour in space exploration. The United States and the USSR were part of these discussions. The United Nations also debated the issues in 1958. In 1959, the United Nations formed the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). COPUOS is the main international group for discussing space activity and its related agreements. The importance of the same was recognized in 1960s and the outer space treaty was signed in 1967.

COPUOS and International Treaties

The COPUOS committee created five different treaties between 1967 and 1979. The first was the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. The treaties cover topics like the rescue of astronauts, liability issues when space activities cause damage and registration of objects that public bodies and private entities launch into outer space. The agreements discuss appropriating resources. Generally, the treaties have supported the notion that no state should claim sovereignty of any celestial body including the moon. One treaty banned the use of nuclear weapons in space.

Challenges with international treaties

Despite the number of COPUOS agreements and other international peacekeeping efforts, many nations are hesitant to sign international agreements that they feel limit their power and control in space exploration. In fact, there are only 17 signatories to the 1979 Moon Treaty. To date, most nations have been hesitant to sign agreements that give up territorial sovereignty in space. In fact, India is the only country that has both signed the Moon Treaty and affirmed their intent to go to the moon. Even so, domestic laws in India make it questionable that India’s signature to the treaty is even official.

Other treaties have been more successful. For example, the 1967 treaty has 104 signatories. Some say that international treaties are more successful when they contain vague language that’s open to interpretation. However, the vague language of the international agreements concerns some who say that the agreements contain very little in terms of significant, binding, controlling language.

Exploitation of space

We all know that Earth has limited resources, and people all over the world are actively working towards more sustainable resource management, but what if we could look to space too?

Space exploitation is, therefore, the use of resources found in space, and primarily, developing the kinds of technology that can enable us to take advantage of these resources outside of the planet. And this is the key, because space exploration is still an extremely expensive exercise, and that’s just when it comes to developing things that can actually go into and not break down in space, never mind things that can work without human intervention to harness resources.

The exploitation of outer space can take many forms, from selling of plots on the moon to the appropriation of asteroids. Right now, the most realistic and most funded exploitation of outer space comes in the form of mining minerals and collecting of water from asteroids in the asteroid belt or other celestial bodies

How could private entities exploit space?

The first article of the outer space treaty states that any activity in outer space should benefit the humankind in some possible way. The current treaties which talks about space focusses merely on the exploration of space by states. We also need to think what happens when corporations run by a board of directors bound to represent the best interests of their shareholders start exploiting space? It will not be as easy to ensure that their actions will be for the benefit of all humankind.

There are currently four companies working on realising this, all registered in the USA. Another important USA company is Explorations Technology Corp., or SpaceX, whose mission is to enable life for people on other planets. SpaceX is owned by famous entrepreneur Elon Musk, and as the fastest growing provider of launch services its interest could easily shift to the exploitation of outer space. The aims of these private parties are something to be taken into consideration when solving the issue of responsible exploitation of outer space.

Current legislations

Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty states that states shall bear responsibility for national activities in outer space undertaken by both governmental and non-governmental entities. In other words, states are responsible for the actions of companies registered to them. The article further reads that states must authorise and supervise non-governmental entities (NGEs), also referred to as private parties, undertaking activities in outer space. Some Nations, like the USA, do indeed have the appropriate legislation in place for authorisation and supervision of NGEs, but others have very little or no legislation at all on this subject. The way this legislation is constructed is also of importance. States would need to ensure that they have appropriate access to regulated outer space activities byNGEs. On the other hand, this influence should not extend too far since it is also important not to hinder investment.

The question we need to ask ourselves is to what extent of exploitation of outer space should be legal in order for it to be responsible. In accordance with Article II of the Outer Space Treaty areas of space can be appropriated by neither states nor NGEs, therefore it should be impossible for private parties to exploit outer space resources since they cannot lay claim to things within it. NGEs are however allowed to extract samples for scientific research under Article V of the Moon Agreement and collect minerals under the supervision of an international mediator, so there is not a clear border between what can and cannot be exploited. States can, therefore, interpret space laws like these rather loosely; an example of this was Luxembourg’s introduction of legal framework protecting companies seeking to exploit resources found in space in July 2017. Under this new legislation Luxembourg recognizes that space resources are capable of being owned by private parties and promises to protect private parties seeking to exploit recourses found in outer space. Anticipating the development of a very profitable industry the country hopes to give itself a global lead in the field of outer space exploitation.

Possible solutions

So far NGEs have only sprung up in nations with appropriate national space law, however in the future this might be different. Treaties on space law are mostly focussed on states rather than private parties, which means that as of yet there are no clear guidelines towards supervision and transparency for private parties. A set of principles to which states should adhere when setting up legal and regulatory framework constituting their national space law could be a way of encouraging more states to set out clear space laws.

Another solution that has been suggested is the extending of the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea to outer space. This solution raises a lot of questions, like: is it fair to extend sovereignty to the space above a nation’s territory under Article 2?

Something that should also be considered when drafting a resolution to this issue is to what extent of exploitation of outer space should be allowed. As proven with Luxembourg when no clear laws are in place states will take initiative to draft these themselves without proper consultation of the international community, and sometimes without consideration of effects on other states. Seeing as exploitation of outer space seems inevitable it might be better to allow it to some extent, rather than to ban any appropriation in outer space and force states and NGEs to look for loopholes.