A gradual approach towards space traffic management: The contribution of UNISAPCE+50

Abstract

The year 2017 as the year of the 50th anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty witnesses ongoing discussions about the governance of space activities. The UNISPACE+50 process directly addresses relevant topics in this context, in particular through its thematic priority 2 “The legal regime of outer space governance”. In parallel to and interconnected with the UNISPACE+50 process, the Long-term Sustainability (LTS) Working Group of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) continues to discuss different guidelines, thereby representing an ongoing effort for a normative development. Also the Legal Subcommittee of UNCOPUOS has a relevant item on its agenda: the topic of space traffic management. Such a traffic management system is composed of a coherent set of rules assuring a safe conduct of space activities free from harmful interference. The need for more adequate regulation is obvious: The safety, security and sustainability of space activities are today challenged by an accelerated proliferation of space debris and a corresponding increase in the risk of in-orbit collisions. The lack of appropriate regulation is complemented by a weak degree of institutionalization of the space law regime as a comparison with other international legal regimes illustrates. It is submitted in this paper that a further norm development would have to be accompanied by the formation of a coherent and institutionalized international legal regime, in short a space traffic management system. UNISPACE+50 offers the opportunity for a new impetus to this debate: Its substantive work on global space governance issues should be used to further promoting and strengthening the conceptual and substantive understanding of space traffic management.