ROOM
35
Space Security
The prospects
for the
future use of
outer space
offer both
tremendous
opportunities
and
challenges
Will international
space law struggle to
remain relevant?
Steven Freeland
Professor of
International Law,
Western Sydney
University, Australia
If there is one stand-out feature that encapsulates humankind’s adventures
in space over the past 60 years, it is the exponential growth and development
of space-related technology, which has given rise to possibilities that
would have been beyond contemplation even a few years earlier. This trend
looks set to gather pace over the coming years and decades. Here, Steven
Freeland argues that there is an urgent need for a more comprehensive and
‘holistic’ system of global space governance if international space law is not
to become irrelevant.
O
ne of the characteristics associated with
the rapid development of space
technology is that comprehensive
standards of regulation cannot easily be
specified in advance. Simply put, if we do not fully
understand the technology - and the risks and
consequences associated with its use - then further
uncertainties and potential risks often result from
attempting to regulate for the ‘unknown’.
It is clear that the prospects for the future use of
outer space offer both tremendous opportunities
and challenges, whilst international law will
struggle to remain relevant and adequately address
all aspects of this seemingly irreversible dynamic.
Adding further complexity to the regulatory
framework necessary to address expanding
space technologies, the fundamental rules that
do exist arose at a time when the development of
LeoLabs, a commercial
provider of data to track
debris and prevent
collisions in low Earth
orbit (LEO), completed a
new addition to its
network of phased-array
radars this spring. The
Midland Space Radar
(MSR), located in Texas,
USA, is now operational
and providing high
resolution orbital data
on LEO-based satellites
and debris.
