The first nation to send a man into space was U.S.S.R and that triggered the
very concept of the space law and the space race began. After that, the number
of advancements in space exploration from a number of satellites, to
international Space Station from establishing foot on the moon, to forestalling
the approaching treats from outer space to earth.
There was no universal law and need of space law felt and in the absence of law,
it is governed by various treaties and conventions only. The First treaty
regarding space law was Outer Space Treaty, which came into force in the year
1967. After that, many treaties came into the picture and the main purpose was
the peaceful utilization of space and space resources for the welfare of
mankind.
Outer Space
There is no clear cut definition some there are many proposed definitions of
outer space, like:
Any region of space beyond limits determined with reference to the boundaries of
a celestial body or system, especially:
- The region of space immediately beyond Earth's atmosphere.
- Interplanetary or interstellar space. [1]
The Space Law refers to the human activities in outer space with relation to
National and International Law. During the time, when it was discussed at the
United Nations, many treaties, resolutions, international space organizations,
agreements on space activities etc., were originated.
Previously, most of the space-related operations were done by govt.
instrumentalities but now, in this commercial new era, many private companies
such as SpaceX are preparing for their own missions and some have started making
collaborations with government agencies.
Space Law never emerged as private law and many other topics become part of
space law such as Radio Frequencies, International Telecommunications Law,
Telecommunication Union, Military Activities, Agreements on major arms control
etc. Due to commercialization and privatization in space-related activities,
many other new issues born in this field such as Issue of Space tourism,
Satellite remote sensing, Satellite communications, Space resource utilization,
Dispute settlement issues, Satellite navigation, Satellite launching, Military
use of outer space, Space station operations, Space project financing, Space
debris and its mitigation etc.
Legal Status
Treaties and Conventions are the source of Space Law. Due to lack of laws &
customs, Treaties are considered as the major sources. An office of Outer Space
(OOSA) is in Vienna, Austria.
There are five basic treaties:
-
Outer Space Treaty:
It is regarded as the Master Treaty of all in the space law and sometimes called
The Grandfather Treaty. It came into effect in 1967. This treaty came into the
picture when humans were close to set foot on the moon. It reflected the concern
of two superpowers of that time, U.S & Soviet Union. The Outer Space Treaty was
signed for the benefit of entire mankind and majorly focused upon the concept of
weapons of mass destruction in space. This treaty also tries to resolve the
issue of claim of sovereignty in space and it also dealt with registration of
Space Objects.
-
Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, Return of Astronauts and Return of
Objects Launched into space (the Astronaut Rescue and Return Agreement)[2]
State Parties are to render humanitarian assistance to astronauts in distress or
who have made an emergency or unintended landing on their territory, and to
return the astronauts to the launching authority.
State Parties are to return objects launched into outer space or their component
parts to the launching authority if they land on their territory.
Convention on International liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects
(the Liability Convention)
This convention has 28 Articles and took around a decade to develop. Before
this treaty Legal Principles Governing the Activities of Space in Exploration
and Usage of Outer Space [3] mentioned that the states will be responsible for
activities in outer space.
Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (the Registration Convention)[4]
The 1976 Convention on the Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space,
expands on the 1976 principle that nations retain jurisdiction over and
responsibility for their facilities and objects in space. It mandates that a
nation register its launch with a U.N. Registry, and thereby legitimate that
nation's jurisdiction over the vessel or facility.
Agreement governing the activities of States on Moon and Other Celestial
Bodies (the Moon Agreement)[5]
Exploration and use of the Moon shall be carried out for the benefit and in the
interest of all countries and due regard shall be paid to the interests of
present and future generations.
The Moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of mankind; neither
the surface nor the subsurface nor any part thereof shall become the property of
any State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organization,
national organization or non-governmental entity or of any natural person.
States Parties shall undertake to establish an international regime to govern
the exploitation of the Moon's natural resources as such exploitation is about
to become feasible. The regime's purposes include orderly and safe development
of the Moon's natural resources, the rational management of those resources, the
expansion of opportunities to use those resources, and an equitable sharing by
all States Parties in the benefits derived from those resources.
States Parties bear international responsibility for national activities on the
Moon, whether by governmental or non-governmental entities. Activities of
non-governmental entities must take place only under the authority and
continuing supervision of the appropriate State Party.
All space vehicles, equipment, facilities, etc. shall be open to other States
Parties so all States Parties may assure themselves that activities of others
are in conformance with this agreement. Procedures are established for resolving
differences.
Space Debris:
Space Debris is one of the biggest problems which is going to affect both
extra-terrestrial and terrestrial environment. The major treaties which are
dealing with space law along with the provisions of environment safety is Outer
Space treaty, 1967 and Moon Treaty, 1979. Further, there are more treaties which
more or less deals with such issue: The Environment Modification Convention
1977, Space Liability Convention 1972, The Rescue Agreement 1968 and The Space
Registration Convention 1975.
Many times, many missions have to be aborted due to Space Debris. A 0.5 mm paint
chip travelling at 35,000 km/hr (10 km/sec) could puncture a standard space
suit.[6]
Definition
No treaty deals with the universal definition of Space Debris. The word
Debris is derived from the French word
Debriser which means to break down.
According to the Report of Second U.N. Conference on Exploration and Peaceful
Uses of Outer Space 1982, space debris consists of dead satellites, spent rocket
motors, nuts and bolts etc.
Space debris is: [7]
- A space object as defined by Article I(d) of the Liability Convention and
Article I(b) of the Registration Convention;
- That no longer performs its original function or has no tangible function;
- That either re-enters the atmosphere, remains in Earth orbit, in outer space or
on the Moon or another celestial body,
- Is either created intentionally or through the actions or inactions of a
launching state;
- May have economic value to a launching state;
- May have historical value to a launching state;
- And/or may have continued national security value to a launching state.
Current Scenario, is that there are millions of fragments orbiting around the
earth. Currently, the U.S Space Surveillance Network is tracking over 13,000
human-made objects larger than 10 cm in diameter orbiting the Earth.[8] In
addition, there are over 100,000 objects measuring between one and ten cm in
diameter and millions smaller than one cm.[9] It is estimated that 40 % of the
tracked debris is the result of breakups of rockets and space craft bodies.[10]
Some examples are: In year 2013, the first and only satellite of Ecuador named
Pegasus, was damaged by space debris. On 10th Feb. 2009, the first collision of
two intact spacecraft occurred in the outer space. Iridium 33, US communication
satellite and Cosmos, a Russian satellite collided as two objects passed over
northern Siberia, it was the first ever accidental in-orbital collision between
two satellites. Another recent incident that dramatically, increased in amount
of catalogued fragmentation debris in outer space, and public interest, was the
intentional destruction by China of its own orbiting Fengyun-1C weather
satellite by an anti-satellite (ASAT) device in 2007. According to Nicholas
Johnson, NASA's chief scientist for orbital debris, this ASAT test, is by far
the worst satellite fragmentation in the history of the space age, in the past
50 years. [11]
There are two kinds of Debris
Natural Debris, which consists of Natural bodies revolving around the sun, like,
meteors and asteroids.
Artificial Debris, which consist of man-made objects (usually non-functional)
which revolves around the Earth. Most commonly referred as Orbital Debris.
Liability for Damage Caused by Space Debris
Article VI of Outer Space Treaty describes, the International Responsibility for the activities conducted by the countries (govt. agencies or private) in
outer space and for ensuring that such activities are obedient with Outer Space
Treaty.
Further Article VII elaborates: Each State Party to the Treaty that launches or
procures the launching of an object into outer space, including the Moon and
other celestial bodies, and each State Party from whose territory or facility an
object is launched, is internationally liable for damage to another State Party
to the Treaty or to its natural or juridical persons by such object or its
component parts on the Earth, in air space or in outer space, including the Moon
and other celestial bodies
Article VIII states: A State Party to the Treaty on whose registry an object
launched into outer space is carried shall retain jurisdiction and control over
such object [] or on a celestial body. Ownership of objects launched into outer
space, [.] and of their component parts, is not affected by their presence in
outer space or on a celestial body or by their return to the Earth
Article VII of Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects states: The provisions of this Convention shall not apply to damage
caused by a space object of a launching State to:
- Nationals of that launching State;
- Foreign nationals during such time as they are participating in the
operation of that space object from the time of its launching or at any
stage thereafter until its descent or during such time as they are in the
immediate vicinity of a planned launching or recovery area as the result of
an invitation by that launching State.
Space Debris Mitigation and Removal:
There are basically two main ways to remove the space debris:
Mitigation which means, reducing the further creation of space debris while
Removal may be by a human-made scheme. For this, it is important to understand
the Tracking of Space Debris and Sources of Space Debris.
Active Removal
Tracking:
Tracking of Space Debris is very important to have a rough overview of the
situation of the problem. Tracking includes extreme calculations by
sophisticated machines. It can further help us in avoiding major collisions in
future. In the present time, there are some sensors put up for tracking space
objects. The United States Space Surveillance Network, track, identify and
catalogue all manmade objects orbiting the earth. It has a Radar Sensor system,
Optical Sensor system, Air Force Space Surveillance system and works with Joint
Space Operation Center (JSpOC).
End-Notes:
- http://www.thefreedictionary.com/outer+space
- https://spacepolicyonline.com/topics/space-law/
- GA Resolution 1962 (XVIII), http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/SpaceLaw/gares/html/gares_18_1962.html
- http://www.nss.org/settlement/nasa/spaceresvol4/spacelaw.html
- http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/space-law
- Howard A. Baker, Space Debris: Legal and Policy Implications 3, (1989), p.
10
- http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2130/1
- Stefan Lovgren, Space Junk Cleanup Needed, NASA Experts Warn, National
Geographic News, January 19, 2006, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0119_060119_space_junk.html
- Brad Thomas, STS 121, Space Center Roundup, Lyndon B. Johnson Space
Center, (April 2006), http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/roundup/online/2006/0406_p8_11.pdf,
p.8
- Stefan Lovgren, Space Junk Cleanup Needed, NASA Experts Warn, National
Geographic News, January 19, 2006, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0119_060119_space_junk.html
- Ram Jakhu, Legal Issues of Satellite Telecommunications, The Geostationary
Orbit, and Space Debris, Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space
Politics & Policy, vol. 5(2), (2007), p. 192
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