Proceedings of the Workshop - United Nations Office for Outer ...

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46 EXPANDING GLOBAL LAUNCH SERVICESinternational launch cooperation, is stronglydiscouraged, irrespective of the peaceful character ofthe project, is one that, in the interest of the samecustomers, deserves to be challenged within the MTCRgroup of countries, but not only there.The question does becomes one of finding the rightforum for discussing this apparent incompatibility ofnational security and international trade, in the light ofits short and long term effects on the growth andsophistication of the international launch industry andon the well-being of the global customers who dependon the former’s services.Undoubtedly the WTO GATS discussions, whichresume in November 1999 in Seattle, provide a forumfor discussing the trade-related aspects of the issue(which discussion may, of course, get uncomfortablyclose to a door saying “national security: notrespassing”!).Could UNCOPUOS play a role?Not, it is submitted, as a (de-) regulator of launchservices, nor as a judge of what is a real nationalsecurity concern and what is not. Two other aspects ofUNCOPUOS’ work justify die Committee’s possibleinvolvement in the discussion:First, the Committee, inter alia through itsScientific and Technical Subcommittee, has anunparallelled experience in promoting internationalcooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and istherefore well-positioned to contribute to a review of theadvisability and feasibility of international projectsinvolving launch cooperation.Second, the Committee, inter alia through its LegalSubcommittee, is not only draftsman and guardian ofa series of space treaties and other instruments dealingwith the legal aspects of space activities, it is also aboutto engage in an analysis of whether, and if so, to whatextent, this body of space law and policy is stilladequate in regulating the space activities of States andother entities governed by the respective rules,particularly in the light of the explosive growth ofprivate commercial space activities.In that connection, it would make practical sense torefrain from an approach, which has enthusiastic spacelawyers (like the author of this report) looking for gapsin the various treaties, and, instead, start a dialogueinvolving in particular the industries and organizationsengaged in private, commercial space activities, withthe purpose of reviewing and analyzing the way inwhich the present regulatory regime affects their presentand future operations.In that dialogue, it would be entirely appropriate toalso include for review other regulatory instruments,such as the ones treated above, which influence thedevelopment of the trade in launch services.It should be emphasized that this exercise is notmeant to create new standards or new instruments, butrather to discuss - without losing sight of what thetreaties and other applicable instruments tried toaccomplish - from a practical angle, the requirements ofmodern-style exploration and use of outer space, bothtoday’s and tomorrow’s.Concluding remarksIn the foregoing, many aspects of launching as a spaceactivity have not been discussed, notwithstanding theirimportance for the customers, the regulators and otherparties concerned. Time, space and the perceivedpatience of the readers were limiting factors.Nevertheless, there is one issue that deserves to bebriefly mentioned at this stage, namely that of the safetyof launching/space transportation, on the ground(spaceports), in airspace and in outer space.With the increase of launch activities, caused by theincreased use of the low-earth orbit for LEO satellitecommunications conglomerates, the joint use of airspace by aircraft and launch vehicles may become amatter of safety-related concerns, particularly with theadvent of re-usable launch vehicles (RLV’s), now underconstruction in the U.S. and the increasing use of airlaunchedvehicles such as the Pegasus. This may be anissue where the experience of both national licensingagencies (FAA) and regional institutions (JAA),Eurocontrol, as well as IGO’s, dealing with safety,
EXPANDING GLOBAL LAUNCH SERVICES 47security and other operational issues such as ECAC(Europe) and ICAO (worldwide) can play a role. TheFAA is already working on the concept of a NationalAirspace System (NAS), aimed at having a seamlessand fully integrated control of space and aviationoperations in national airspace by the year 2005, theSpace and Air Traffic Management System (SATMS):“In the near 2005 timeframe, the number of U.S.space transportation operations will have increasedsharply, reusable launch vehicle operations will havebecome commonplace, and the demand for access to thenation’s airspace by aviation users (civil, military,general) will have significantly increased. With thesechanges on the horizon, the need for smart, rapidevolution towards realization of the SATMS “vision”,in the 21st century, becomes paramount.”15There are various good reasons for not gettinginvolved in a discussion on the matter of the safety ofairspace, let alone on international regulatory attentionto the issue:The U.S. is the only country so far with anairspace that may become cluttered by the jointuse of RLV’s and aircraft, both because of theexisting Space Shuttle and the advanced stateof RLV development in combination with thelocation of the airports and spaceports used;• The expendable launch vehicles are notdesigned to return to earth at all or the remainswill bum up in the atmosphere and/or make acalculated crash landing on the empty highseas;• The Space Shuttle and the future RLV’s aredesigned and operated so as to land in theirown national territory and thus only traversenational airspace: ICAO safety rules andregulations came about because aircraft ofmany different nationalities enter or fly throughforeign airspace or land at foreign airports;• Involvement of an international regulatorybody such as ICAO, including its decisionmaking processes, could be viewed by the few15 See Space and Air Traffic Management System (SA TMS),FAA AST strategic plans,launching States possibly affected as a measureof overkill not warranted by the issue.Still, there would appear to be an argument for thelatter organization to be at least kept informed about theabove national regulatory initiatives:• Aircraft of foreign nationality do use (part of)the air space which RLV’s will also operatethrough and the worldwide safety of aviation,involving global standardization andpromulgation of safety standards andprocedures, can be considered part of ICAO’sinstitutional responsibilities;• RLV’s may in future go where the customer isand take of and/or land in foreign countries;this would also require a standardization ofrules and procedures.The above brief account should not be interpretedas a call for ICAO’s active involvement in the matter,but as an invitation to further study theramifications/consequences of this new issue for theaviation industry.It may also be seen as an example of another spaceactivity, next to the use of global navigation satellitesby aviation, which requires the attention of both airlawyers and space lawyers.Commentary PaperCatherine BaudinEuropean Space AgencyLegal AffairsIn his document, H. Peter van Fenema analyses thechanges taking place in the launch services sector,identifies the causes and obstacles and proposes somepossible remedies.The starting point is the observation of the rapidincrease of the commercial part of the marketassociated to the emergence of constellations placed in
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