Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

The Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has issued a new paper focused on improving space governance and accelerating the growth of the space economy.

Research Fellow Ely Sandler notes that, with human activity in outer space proliferating, existing international space law is ill-equipped to address emerging challenges such as militarization, space debris, satellite collision risks, and conflicts over resources.

Rules of the road

Sandler calls for establishing a Conference of the Parties (COP) for the Outer Space Treaty that might forge a new pathway to deal with a preponderance of thorny space-related issues.

Dean Rusk (2nd from right), Secretary of State of the United States, signed the Outer Space Treaty at a White House ceremony on January 27, 1967. At the table, right to left: President Lyndon B. Johnson of the United States; Ambassador Arthur J. Goldberg, Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN; Sir Patrick Dean, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN; and USSR Ambassador to the United States Anatoly F. Dobrynin.
Image credit: United Nations

Despite widespread agreement that shared “rules of the road” are needed, Sandler adds, current geopolitical competition makes negotiating new treaties or amending existing ones all but impossible.

Wanted: a space COP

Sandler argues that a space COP would provide a mechanism for incremental progress on space governance, converting areas of existing agreement into binding international law without requiring “all-or-nothing” treaty amendment or passage.

The paper also sets out model language for incorporating a COP into the Outer Space Treaty and outlines an initial agenda of issues.

For access to the paper, go to:

https://www.belfercenter.org/research-analysis/space-cop-governance