The Rescue Agreement at 50: The IISL/ECSL Symposium

The first Monday afternoon of the annual session of the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) Legal Subcommittee usually features a symposium hosted by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL). This year the focus was on the Rescue Agreement[1] as […]

Space Law in Paris

Once again, I spent a few days in March in the heart of Paris listening to people talk about space law and doing some talking about space law myself. Owing to Easter and a few other things I have only had the chance to post this today. Friday 23 March was the European Centre for […]

Defining ‘Outer Space’

As with a number of space law terms, the space treaties do not provide a definition of outer space. While for the most part a common-sense approach works there are times when it leads to a lack of certainty and clarity. However, generally speaking this has not really been an issue but it worth examining, […]

UK Space Industry Bill: Second Commons Reading

On Monday 15 January, the 2nd anniversary of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s historic spacewalk, the House of Commons debated the Space Industry Bill[1] after its second reading. I have discussed the Space Industry Bill, and its predecessor in the last Parliament, the Spaceflight Bill, on several occasions so I won’t go into great detail […]

Happy Holidays: Some End of Year Thoughts

2017 has been an interesting and exciting year in the world of space law and policy. It was, of course, the 50th anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty so there was quite a lot of focus on that this year. But space law has seemed to become, if not ‘mainstream’ then certainly more prominent this […]

UK Space Industry Bill: A Missed Opportunity to Promote British Space Mining?

The UK Space Industry Bill has now passed the House of Lords and is on its way to the House of Commons, the date for its second reading has yet to be announced but I would imagine it won’t be until the new year but you can keep track of its progress here. The Space […]

What is a Space Object?

There was a recent article on Space.com[1] discussing the definition of a satellite. The article was very good but didn’t discuss the legal situation. This has prompted this post. However, there’s more to consider especially as discussion of in-space manufacturing of satellites is becoming a ‘hot topic’ (note the recent article in the Financial Times[2]). […]