Law & Policy in the Space Stations' Era

Space Stations represent a watershed in man''s utilisation of the space milieu. The several factors of array of hardware, proliferation of space capability, constant presence of man in orbit, variety of activities and multiplicity of participants, all coalesce to create an unprecedented era in the conquest of space.

In addition to these scientific and technological developments, this book addresses the policy implications for all the current participants in the Space Stations'' Era. These include both the Soviet Union, with its Mir orbital complex, and the participants in the West''s response - the USllnternational Space Station - the United States, the European Space Agency, Japan and Canada who will be united in manned exploration and exploitation of the inner solar system for at least the next generation.

Naturally cooperation on such a scale engenders myriad legal difficulties. This book divides its discussjr)n of these into three parts, dealing with a constitutional perspective of the treaty-making process in the space field, the optimum framework for management of the USllnternational Space Station based on a review of the most significant co-operative agreements concluded over the past 25 years, and a presentation of the range and complexity of the commercial issues involved.

The third part of the book deals with the macrocosm within which space stations as specific suites of hardware must operate. Thus, there is a discussion of the military realities of space station utilisation and its legality, an assessment of the legislative attempts to protect the environment of near-earth space and an appraisal of the viability of the existing global legislative framework as the milieu matures.