French ONERA and outer space
The Office National d’Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) is the French national aerospace research centre. It is a public establishment, with industrial and commercial operations, and carries out application-oriented research to support enhanced innovation and competitiveness in the aerospace and defense sectors. →
Space archaeology: how to protect lunar sites?
As private companies or NASA revive the space race to Mars, the Moon has once again become an important landmark in space exploration. How to protect the first sites of space exploration, when space is supposed to belong to everyone? The trace of the boot left on the lunar floor by Neil Armstrong in July 1969 is still intact, fifty years later. →
Aircraft certification
In our research on Air Law, we wanted for this new Space Legal Issues article focus on aircraft certification. The recent crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane casts doubt on the certification methods of airliners. These long and laborious procedures have been proven, but the crash of two Boeing 737 Max in a few months, calls into question their effectiveness. →
Kourou, the European spaceport
Favourable climate, near the equator, opening onto the ocean… Beyond these natural assets, if the CSG (Centre Spatial Guyanais), the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s spaceport, retains its place in the international chessboard, it is because it knows how to continually adapt to the expectations of satellite customers, and technological developments in the field of launchers and ground means. →
The Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992
After nearly a decade of attempting to guide the complex process of land remote sensing in the U.S., the 1984 Land Remote Sensing Commercialization Act was repealed; in its place, U.S. Congress passed the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992. →
The Land Remote-Sensing Commercialization Act of 1984
The Land Remote-Sensing Commercialization Act of 1984 is a U.S. statute establishing a system to further the utilisation of satellite imagery data obtained from Earth observation satellites. The Act was: a) to guide the federal government in achieving proper involvement of the private sector, and b) to maintain the U.S.A.’s worldwide leadership in civil remote sensing. →
France in space: independence and cooperation
At the head of the third world space budget, France equipped itself in September with a military space command. Apart from manned flight, the hexagon is present in all areas: commercial launches, science, observation, telecommunications and defense. →
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA, is an American scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce (an executive department of the federal government concerned with promoting economic growth) that focuses on the conditions of the oceans, major waterways, and the atmosphere. →
Pedis possessio and asteroids
Pedis possessio is a principle of mining law, according to which a qualified person who peaceably, and in good faith, enters a land in the public domain in search of valuable minerals, may hold the place exclusively against others having no better title. In the context of space law and that of the lawfulness of space mining activities, could the principle of pedis possessio interest space lawyers? →
Tardigrades on the Moon and space legal issues
In April 2019, the lunar lander Beresheet – a privately funded Israeli project – crashed on the Moon. On board the spacecraft, a few thousand dehydrated tardigrades had been attached to the “lunar library”. As for whether any of the DNA or tardigrades are still intact, that’s anyone’s guess. What about planetary protection and Article IX of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty? →
Public-private partnership contracts
Public-private partnership contracts involve collaborations between government agencies, and private-sector companies, used to finance, build, and operate projects, such as public transportation networks, parks, and convention centres. Financing projects through public-private partnership contracts can allow projects to be completed sooner, or make them a possibility in the first place. →
Jus Cogens in international law
Jus cogens concerns principles of law considered universal and superior, and which must constitute the bases of the imperative norms of general international law. This concept is similar to, but not totally consistent with, that of customary international law, which presupposes recognition and general effective application. Jus cogens obligations derive from the usual processes creating ordinary customary international law. →
Space Insurance & Space Law
Space insurance is governed, as all classes of insurance, by general insurance principles: mutualisation (the premium of the many pay for the claims of the few), fortuity (notion of random occurrence as opposed to prediction), indemnity (not to be richer after the loss than before), due intelligence (insurance should not alter the behaviour of the insured), and true and fair declaration of the risk. →
Declaration on International Cooperation and the Needs of Developing Countries
The Declaration on International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for the Benefit and in the Interest of All States, Taking into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries, adopted in 1996 (General Assembly Resolution 51/122), recognises the needs of developing countries. →
Can Space Law apply on Earth?
Can Space Law apply on Earth? When I tell people about my interest in Space Law, they are usually surprised. They ask me what is Space Law and I try to give a simple definition. Recently, I have asked myself if Space Law could apply on Earth and the answer is of course: yes! →
An interview with Jean-François Clervoy
This interview of Jean-François Clervoy was conducted by Louis de Gouyon Matignon for Space Legal Issues on Thursday, April 25, 2019, in the CNES office of Jean-François Clervoy in Paris, France. We talked about Space Law, how astronauts are selected and how much do they earn, the Overview Effect and anecdotes. →
Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space
A positive step towards protecting the human environment was taken on December 14, 1992, with the adoption by the U.N. General Assembly of the Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space. These eleven Principles, with the Resolution adopting them, culminate efforts going back to 1972. →
Principles Relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space
The Principles Relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space were adopted by consensus on December 3, 1986. They provide a set of non-binding yet agreed and politically relevant principles to guide the activities of remote sensing by the United Nations member states. →
The Delimitation between Airspace and Outer Space
For this new Space Law article on Space Legal Issues, let’s study the Delimitation between Airspace and Outer Space. The issue of where airspace ends and outer space begins has been debated since the 1950s. This legal issue is important since Air Law and Space Law are governed by vastly different legal regimes. →
Principles Governing the Use by States of Artificial Earth Satellites for International Direct Television Broadcasting
In order to gain some understanding of the impact of communications institutions on the formation of international law, let’s have a look for this new Space Law article at the Principles Governing the Use by States of Artificial Earth Satellites for International Direct Television Broadcasting. →