Commercial Space Activity Law: Necessities and Strategies

Abstract

Commercialization of space is happening much faster than expected. However, in space law, due to the share of the five treaties at the time of their conclusion and ratification, less attention has been paid to the commercial dimensions of space, so the logic of international relations requires that space regulations be developed in proportion to this growing trend. The non-conformity of regulations with the development of business activities poses challenges to the international community in adopting binding laws, which has led countries to regulate this area to meet the needs of domestic business actors. The development of commercial uses of space such as space tourism, space transportation, natural resource exploitation, the need for rules, updating and transparency of regulations, especially in areas such as property ownership (both real and intellectual), financing of space assets, and space mining is essential. The present article, while enumerating the basic needs and strategies in this field along with soft laws and the actions of various space law actors as one of the practical ways of regulating space activities, explains the existing regulations such as the space protocol to the Cape Town Convention on investment in the space industry.

Keywords

• development of commercial activities
• space law
• property law
• space tourism
• natural resources exploitation
• environmental considerations