The future of international spaceport regulations: which response to expect from the international community?

As humanity is today well into the 21st century, we witness the appearance of new prospects for the utilization and exploitation of outer space, making outer space increasingly “contested, congested and competitive”1. Many aspects of our daily lives have already come to depend on our occupation of Low Earth Orbits (LEO) and Geostationary Earth Orbits (GEO). As the number of space-related activities increases exponentially though, most notably in its commercial facet, so does the need for new spaceports and adequate regulations for the increased space traffic that will follow. The “big sky” theory which protected airborne travelers for almost two decades before becoming obsolete will soon suffer the same fate in regard to space travel. The future of space activities partially depends on the answer from the international community to this problem. Up until now, international involvement in the regulation-making process regarding space traffic management and spaceports regulations has been sparse, save for a few non-binding documents. But as the number of spaceports aimed at commercial activities grows (private satellite launching, suborbital flights/space tourism, deep space mining), the adoption of a legally binding treaty seems unavoidable. Such a document would not only need to increase the level of cooperation between spaceports, but with airports as well. This paper will aim at proving that the establishment of space traffic rules would need to clearly define some of the terms used in the earlier space treaties, regulate launch activities and suborbital spaceflight, institutionalize information and data sharing, and offer an adequate delimitation of outer space as well as a solution to the increasingly problematic space debris issue. Finally, it is conceivable that such a treaty could establish an international organization charged with centralizing informations concerning space traffic, coordinate its actions with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and settle disputes between members according to the 1972 Liability convention2 and the new rules of space traffic. But is the international community willing to take such a step? 1Lt. Col. S. HUNTER, “How to reach an International Civil Aviation Organization role in Space Traffic Management” (November 5, 2014). Space Traffic Management Conference. Paper 21. p. 5. URL: http://commons.erau.edu/stm/2014/wednesday/21 2Convention on the international liability for damage caused by space objects. Opened for signature at London, Moscow and Washington on 29 march 1972