Status of the IAA study group on traffic management rules for space operations

Abstract

The investigation of space traffic and its management has only recently become a point of wider discussion. In particular, the series of workshops organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and other international organizations on international cooperation highlighted the issue. It was discussed thoroughly at the workshops, which took place in 1999 and 2001, respectively. It was at the 2001 workshop, when the suggestion was made that an International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Study on the subject of space traffic management should be prepared. This suggestion was taken up and a proposal was presented to the Board of Trustees of IAA, which, in late 2001, accepted this proposal. Following this, an interdisciplinary study group of around 20 persons was composed. One early milestone in the process of work was the conduct of an International Institute of Space Law (IISL)/European Center of Space Law (ECSL) Symposium alongside the 2002 session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) Legal Subcommittee. This symposium consisted of presentations of members of the IAA study group. Also, close coordination with other study projects of IAA, in particular with the one on space debris, is sought. This paper presents the status of work of the study group, in particular, the approach and the scope of the study as well as its preliminary findings. The study group intends to finalize its work in early 2004, in order to be able to put the study before IAA and launch its review process before the 2004 International Astronautical Congress. Following this review, the study will be published and may be expected to make an impact in fora like the UNCOPUOS. The authors of this paper act as the coordinators/the rapporteur to this study. The paper will be presented in the IAA—as well as the IISL—session dealing with space traffic, by that bridging the two areas and seeking input from various sources.