The mass of space debris in orbit around the Earth is growing and will continue to grow due to more frequent launches of satellites and space debris colliding with other space debris. This could lead to a situation in the future where a part, or all, of the orbit becomes so crowded with space debris that it becomes impossible to launch satellites to that region. In the end, it could even become impossible to access outer space at all due to the high risk of collision when travelling through the orbit. The first aim of this thesis is to explore the international regulation regarding space debris and evaluate if the legal regime can successfully be used as a tool to deal with the growing issue of orbital debris. The second aim is to discuss and recommend some possible improvements to the international regulation of space, to promote the sustainability of the Earth orbit as well as legal certainty. It is concluded that the current legal regime is unequipped to handle the issue of space debris. This is because the space treaties are vague and do not impose strict boundaries on the actions of states, and sufficient international customary law has not been developed. To address this issue, several improvements to the regulation of outer space are proposed with the aim of removing the legal uncertainty and providing a flexible framework to address the complex issues space debris creates.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Since the start of the space race in the 1950‟s the outer space environment has significantly changed due to human expansion and the subsequent by-products known as outer space pollution/debris. As outer space rapidly evolved from a military high-ground into a commercialised asset exploited by private and state owned enterprises, the treaties negotiated in the 1960‟s and 1970‟s quickly became out-dated. As a result outer space, especially the orbits around the Earth are occupied by countless masses of non-functional manmade objects, some expected to remain for millions of years. This dissertation argues that the current national and international legal framework will be inadequate to address the problem of outer space pollution and that legal and political action will be necessary on a global scale. With the planned developments as set out in the National Space Policy, South Africa is set on becoming a leading provider of outer space services on the African continent and will, as a consequence, have a progressively bigger impact on the outer space environment. With a growing dependence on outer space technologies, developed and developing economies around the world cannot ignore the immense negative consequences that outer space debris could pose to their development. This study will thus, by examining the international and national legal framework regarding outer space pollution, provide legal recommendations pertaining to the principles and obligations that the South African legal framework will have to make provision for, in order to minimise the negative effect on the outer space environment. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Since the start of the space race in the 1950‟s the outer space environment has significantly changed due to human expansion and the subsequent by-products known as outer space pollution/debris. As outer space rapidly evolved from a military high-ground into a commercialised asset exploited by private and state owned enterprises, the treaties negotiated in the 1960‟s and 1970‟s quickly became out-dated. As a result outer space, especially the orbits around the Earth are occupied by countless masses of non-functional manmade objects, some expected to remain for millions of years. This dissertation argues that the current national and international legal framework will be inadequate to address the problem of outer space pollution and that legal and political action will be necessary on a global scale. With the planned developments as set out in the National Space Policy, South Africa is set on becoming a leading provider of outer space services on the African continent and will, as a consequence, have a progressively bigger impact on the outer space environment. With a growing dependence on outer space technologies, developed and developing economies around the world cannot ignore the immense negative consequences that outer space debris could pose to their development. This study will thus, by examining the international and national legal framework regarding outer space pollution, provide legal recommendations pertaining to the principles and obligations that the South African legal framework will have to make provision for, in order to minimise the negative effect on the outer space environment. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

It has been universally recognized since the end of World War I that every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory. Therefore, it may grant or refuse to aircraft of other states the right to fly into its airspace. [...]

Outer Space Activities & Environmental Protection Abstract This thesis aims at addressing various connecting factors between outer space activities and environmental protection. It examines the present legal regime of the outer space with particular regard to the environmental protection. The analysis of the most relevant space treaties is provided, reviewing the provisions concerning the protection of the environment, while addressing the emerging environmental issues. The significant role of international bodies is being emphasized, as well as the current challenges the regime of outer space is facing. Although the space-related activities offer an extensive tool to enhance environmental protection of Earth, the environment of space is nowadays being exposed to an imminent threat called space debris, which could prevent all possible future space activities if left unattended. The pollution of the space environment is at a critical level, and the international community is required to respond within a short time in the future. The introduction of mitigating efforts will no longer itself be effective without the addition of active employment of remediating measures, such as the active debris removal. On the other hand, space activities already widely contribute to preserving the environment of Earth...

No description available.

THE OUTER SPACE TREATY IN THE CONTEXT OF 21ST CENTURY ABSTRACT The Outer Space Treaty is the fundamental legal document of space law and this year it celebrates 50 years since its adoption. Questions are being raised among the international community about the relevance of the Treaty in the context of 21st century mostly given the completely different conditions at the time of its adoption and at present. Reasons for such a debate is the current development in the field of space and technology, which is not covered by the Outer Space Treaty or any other relevant binding convention. New possibilities to explore space are emerging, especially among the private actors and activities vary given its nature, from commercial to military. And within the 50 years these new options also slowly contribute to serious environmental problems, which were not of such importance and priority as they are now. Besides these issues, the space law is characterized by its high fragmentation and no common standard for national legislation in this field. Given these challenges the scholars and specialist agree, that the contemporary legislation does not provide a necessary framework to ensure the peaceful use of space and its future safety. The question is, what future will have the Outer Space Treaty in context of the...