Promoting Safety and Security: Challenges for the Future Governance of Space Activities

by Steven Freeland^1
1 Western Sydney University, Fellow Bond University, Azimuth Advisory (Sydney, Australia)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29202/asl/12/8
Received: 13 November 2023 / Accepted: 25 November 2023 / Published: 30 December 2023

This paper presents a comprehensive examination of the current and emerging challenges in the governance of space activities, focusing on promoting safety and security. Key international treaties and esolutions, including those under the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), are discussed, highlighting their evolution in response to changing geopolitical dynamics and the expansion of space activities across various sectors. The paper addresses several critical challenges: ensuring diverse global voices are heard in space governance, managing the dichotomy of space in terms of its strategic value and dual-use nature, achieving consensus among the rapidly growing number of space-faring nations, defining and delimiting space, adapting to the commercialization of space activities, and confronting the growing problem of space debris.

Keywords: Space Governance, International Space Law, Space Safety, Space Security, UNCOPUOS, Space Debris, Space Commercialization, Global Consensus, Legal Framework, Space Race.

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Freeland, Steven (2023) Promoting Safety and Security: Challenges for the Future Governance of Space Activities. Advanced Space Law, Volume 12, 63-68. https://doi.org/10.29202/asl/12/8