AwaitingLaunch_1397728623369

Beyond the activities of states in space remain the operations of the
international satellite organisations such as IGO/Eutelsat, International
Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (ITSO)/Intelsat and International
Mobile Satellite Organisation (IMSO)/Inmarsat, whose processing issues
used to be mainly technical but now have a growing political dimension
impacting public and private interests inherent in the obligations of
international public telecommunications services. These include the
maintenance of global connectivity as well as matters relating to the
management of orbital positions, resources and frequency assignments,
which constitute the common heritage of the Parties to the ITSO (149
states). For IMSO, its scope covers the provision of mobile satellite
communication systems in the framework of the Global Maritime Distress
and Safety System (GMDSS) at sea, which also uses space infrastructure and,
therefore, its activity is also likely to be regulated by the eventual provisions
of an ICoC for Outer Space Activities. In this field also remain activities of
Cospas-Sarsat International Satellite System for Search and Rescue (1988), in
which 41 states and organisations also made their contribution in terms of
cooperation between international organisations (EUMETSAT, International
Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), IMO, ITU) and the European
contribution to the provision of the COSPAS SARSAT by search and rescue
instruments (SAR) on board of the European Galileo satellite constellation.
The conception of international space security policies will be conducive to
better transparency, particularly for space activities, as these policies delineate
the objectives, principles and rules of space actors with respect to access to
and the pacific use of space. These norms will provide the context within
which international civil, commercial, and military space actors can operate
properly.
Since February 2008, China and Russia have continually proposed an
alternative legally binding treaty that would outlaw the weaponisation of
space, as a complement to existing international treaties; most other space
faring nations oppose the draft treaty, arguing that it is unverifiable and
would not cover ground-based systems.
While no country, or even group of countries, possesses the sovereign
authority to prevent or minimise the inherent risks of space activities or
responsibility for regulating space, outer space is instead governed by a
combination of informal industry standards, unofficial UN guidelines, and
138 | Awaiting Launch: Perspectives on the Draft ICoC for Outer Space Activities