UN COPUOS Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities: Early implementation experiences and next steps in COPUOS.
- Paper number
IAC-20,E3,4,1,x60699
- Author
Prof. Peter Martinez, United States, Secure World Foundation
- Year
2020
- Abstract
In June 2019 the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) adopted 21 voluntary, non-binding consensus Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability (LTS) of Outer Space Activities and a politically significant context-setting preamble to these (and future) LTS guidelines. With the adoption of these 21 LTS Guidelines, the focus of discussions in UN COPUOS has shifted from guideline development to guideline implementation. Successful LTS guideline implementation will both rely on and strengthen international cooperation in space activities. Implementation of the guidelines will also be strengthened by improved coordination and information exchange among space actors from government, space agencies and the private sector regarding their respective experiences in the authorization, supervision and conduct of space activities. This paper will present some of the early guideline implementation efforts of several different types of space actors, the challenges they are encountering, and the lessons learnt from some recent “teachable moments”. The paper will conclude with some observations on the second phase of the LTS discussions in UN COPUOS.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-20,E3,4,1,x60699.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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