Outer Space’s Legal Framework, Challenges, and Policies
The peaceful use of space has opened new possibilities for human progress. The first artificial satellite on our planet, Sputnik 1, was put into orbit on October 14, 1957. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) opened for business on October 1, 1958, and since then has been one of the players in the conquest of space. For many years the Agency followed the same process for spacecraft development and operations. That process proved successful for more than 50 years. In 2005, mandated by President George W. Bush on January 14, 2004, NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) completed a successful year of milestones and discoveries starting the implementation of the Vision for Space ExplorationSpace Exploration, the USA long-term plan for returning astronauts to the Moon to prepare for voyages to other destinations in the solar system. The commercial space market leveled out also in 2005, and SpaceX announced plans to pursue a human-rated commercial space program through the end of the decade. That program would later become the Dragon spacecraft.iIn 2006, NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the company was one of two selected to provide crew and cargo resupply demonstration contracts to the International Space Station (ISS) under the COTS program.ii Of 52 successful launches worldwide in 2005, about 23 (44%) were commercial launches compared to 19 (36%) in 2004. The situation had changed, and NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had to adapt to a new environment and the privatization of the space industry. As a matter of fact, in the late 1960s, the US Government invested over 4.5% of the Federal Budget in NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and in 2005 the percentage was 0.63% as the US Government had to cut funding for many of NASA projects to reduce the deficit to boost the economy. The privatization of outer spaceOuter space exploration is a matter heavily debated in the international community. This paper will be studying the differences between the traditional NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) program and the more “open” model used today for the Commercial Crew and Cargo programs. Outer spaceOuter space is a neutral territory designated free from the appropriation under international law. Nevertheless, there is an approach towards using the space for defensive purposes that some could consider militarizationSpace Militarization.