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Security in Space The Next Generation - UNIDIR

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practices, and to allow for mutual assistance and rescue <strong>in</strong> case of need.<br />

Some examples of such benefi ts are as follows.<br />

COMMERCIAL PAYLOADS SAFETY REQUIREMENTS<br />

Commercial launch sites tend nowadays to be quite <strong>in</strong>ternational by host<strong>in</strong>g<br />

large foreign teams dur<strong>in</strong>g (foreign) spacecraft preparation for launch.<br />

As a fi rst step, the harmonization of launch range safety requirement for<br />

payloads would:<br />

develop and propagate a common safety culture <strong>in</strong> the specifi c fi eld;<br />

allow spacecraft developers to design their systems accord<strong>in</strong>g to a<br />

s<strong>in</strong>gle set of safety requirements, no matter which launch vehicle<br />

and site is later used; and<br />

exclude safety programme costs from the commercial competition<br />

equation.<br />

In perspective, uniform safety technical requirements would allow a<br />

regime of mutual recognition of safety certifi cates which may be granted<br />

by a national safety authority for <strong>in</strong>ternational use, as is already the case <strong>in</strong><br />

many comparable fi elds (aviation, for example). Such an approach would<br />

allow a further enhancement of overall system safety by not limit<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

safety certifi cation to the safety design aspects as is currently the case, but<br />

<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g all elements of <strong>in</strong>dependent quality assurance surveillance of the<br />

actual manufactur<strong>in</strong>g and test<strong>in</strong>g by the national space authority.<br />

SPACE TOURISM<br />

In the fi eld of space tourism there are currently about 26 different concepts<br />

and vehicles under development, ma<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong> the United States, but also <strong>in</strong><br />

Canada, Russia and Europe. <strong>Space</strong>ports dedicated to suborbital fl ights are<br />

be<strong>in</strong>g established <strong>in</strong> Malaysia, Scotland, S<strong>in</strong>gapore, Sweden and the United<br />

Arab Emirates. Several civil aviation authorities have <strong>in</strong>itiated their own<br />

studies on possible regulatory frameworks. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Space</strong>ShipTwo vehicles be<strong>in</strong>g<br />

built by the US company Scaled Composites will be owned and operated<br />

by the UK company Virg<strong>in</strong> Galactic. This is similar to the Canadian Arrow,<br />

to be operated by the US Company Planet<strong>Space</strong>.<br />

Because of such cross border relationships, complicated legal and<br />

regulatory issues arise. For example, as <strong>Space</strong>ShipTwo is classifi ed as rocket,<br />

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