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Article
Business, Legal, and Policy Issues in Relation to Increased Private Space Activity
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science
  • Mark J Sundahl, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2019
Keywords
  • space industry,
  • space commercialization,
  • space law,
  • international law,
  • treaties,
  • asteroid mining,
  • launch services,
  • rockets,
  • satellites
Abstract

Throughout the history of human activity in outer space, the role of private companies has steadily grown, and, in some cases, companies have even replaced government agencies as the primary actors in space. As private space activity has grown and diversified, the laws and regulations that govern private actors have been forced to evolve in reaction to the new realities of the industry. On the international level, the treaties concluded in the 1960s and 1970s continue to be in force today. However, these treaties only govern state activity in space. The rules regulating private industry are necessarily domestic in nature, and it is in these domestic laws that the evolution of space law can be most clearly seen. That said, new industries, such as asteroid mining, are testing the limits of international law and have forced the international community to examine whether changes to long-standing laws are needed.

DOI
10.1093/acrefore/9780190647926.013.76
Citation Information
Mark J Sundahl. "Business, Legal, and Policy Issues in Relation to Increased Private Space Activity" Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science (2019)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/mark_sundahl/34/