Demystifying the ITAR in international space cooperation
- Paper number
IAC-06-B3.4.09
- Author
Mrs. Corinne Jorgenson, Advancing Space Consulting Group, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. John Ordway, Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, L.L.P., United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Karl Abendschein, Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, L.L.P., United States
- Year
2006
- Abstract
In 1998, reacting to the participation of U.S. companies in an analysis of a Chinese Long March rocket launch failure, the U.S. Congress mandated that exports of all commercial spacecraft be returned to control under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) (ending a brief 3 years of control of such spacecraft under the Export Administration Regulations). Although the ITAR has now governed exports of commercial spacecraft for over seven years (and for decades before that), application of the ITAR to international space projects is not always well understood. Because the ITAR essentially subjects international cooperative civil space projects to the same export controls as military space projects, it is critical that all participants in any international space project have a clear understanding of the ITAR and the ITAR’s potential impact on the project. This paper will analyze the ITAR in lay terms, focusing on those sections of the ITAR applicable to spacecraft and spacecraft components, data, and services related to spacecraft. The paper will offer suggestions as to how to interpret and apply the ITAR in the context of a government-to-government civil space project. The paper will also describe the practical realities of obtaining export authorization under the ITAR, and will offer recommendations for minimizing problems and delays in obtaining such authorization. The paper will then analyze the impact that the ITAR has upon government-to-government space cooperation through application of the ITAR to second- and third-tier vendors on international space programs. Finally, the paper will offer policy recommendations to ease the impact of the ITAR upon companies participating in international space programs.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-B3.4.09.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.