Accommodating New Commercial Space Applications in the Global Legal/Regulatory Framework: An Evolutionary Approach to Launching the New Space Revolution
- Paper number
IAC-17,E7,5,13,x40262
- Author
Ms. Audrey Allison, The Boeing Company, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Bruce Chesley, Boeing Space and Missile Systems, United States
- Year
2017
- Abstract
Driven by ongoing technological breakthroughs and the rapidly rising demand for broadband connectivity, innovative new telecommunication satellites and services are being designed and launched. Among these are high throughput satellites which are already delivering broadband connectivity to previously unserved swaths of the globe, including on board aircraft and to ships navigating the high seas. A new generation of proposed low-earth orbiting satellite constellations, the so-called “Mega-LEOs,” are also being developed which could finally deliver a solution for the profound “digital divide” that impacts the development of most nations. However, to support the tremendous financial investments required to develop these new space systems, a supportive legal and regulatory foundation is absolutely required. On this 50th anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty, this paper will describe how existing space governance mechanisms are being employed to facilitate the introduction of the new Mega-LEOs and other space innovations. The International Telecommunication Union, a specialized agency of the United Nation, has a long history of providing a stable and foundational legal regime upon which major space systems can be supported and sustained and it affords a notable example of space governance solutions for the world.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-17,E7,5,13,x40262.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.