session 5

Title

Space Stations: Legal Framework

type

oral

Description

With decommissioning the successful International Space Station (ISS) approaching, a question on its followers or substitutes opens. At present, the Chinese space station is orbiting the Earth. For the future, a commercial space station is under preparation, and the Gateway orbiting the Moon is planned. These structures are envisaged for a permanent or semi-permanent stay of human beings in outer space, serving not only as a shelter but as a basis for scientific investigations in weightlessness or the stay of microgravity. Their developments signalise a transition from LEO activities to lunar and Mars exploration. The advent of commercial space stations, fostering a new era of in-orbit research, tourism, and in space manufacturing, raises questions inter alia about property rights, liability, and jurisdiction. The session will seek to explore how current governance frameworks must evolve to support this transition, addressing overlaps and gaps in international and national space laws. Invited are i.e. contributions dealing with the legal aspects of the decommissioning of the ISS, in comparison with deorbiting earlier space structures, with the legal framework of the Chinese space station, as well as the planned commercial space station. Additionally, the international legal framework of the Gateway station can be debated.

Date

2026-10-07

Time

15:00

Room

Hall 3

IPC members

• Co-Chair: Prof. Mahulena Hofmann, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg ;

• Co-Chair: Ms. NAZLI CAN, Istanbul Technical University, Türkiye;

• Rapporteur: Mr. Safwene El Khaira, ECSL, France;

• Rapporteur: Ms. Simona Spassova, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg ;