Outer space commercialization and its ethical challenges to international law and policy

Abstract

This article investigates the new ethical challenges to international law and policy-making that the commercialization 1 For purposes of this article, space commercialization can be defined as the broad range of activities, conducted either jointly or separately by government or private entities, that aim to commercially utilize, either now or in the future, some aspect of outer space, its resources or technologies [1]. 1 of outer space activities presents to the nations of the world. More specifically, this article will examine: (1) some of the benefits and problems that space commercialization is creating for both national and international political and economic institutions, (2) the growing controversy between First and Third World nations concerning the regulation of space activities and the allocation of space resources, and (3) whether the principles, policies, and procedures of international space law are adequate to meet the new challenges that space commercialization presents. Finally, this article will attempt to demonstrate how application of contemporary Roman Catholic human rights theory combined with the ethical works of the development economist, Amartya Sen, may be used to adjudicate between the rights claims made by these nations, and provide appropriate policy guidelines for the equitable distribution of outer space resources and technologies.