June 2019
The challenge of planetary protection
... search for extraterrestrial life It is important to understand the legal and policy background. Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty (OST) of 1967 addresses the avoidance of harmful contamination of celestial bodies (forward contamination) and the...
August 2020
Battle for the night sky - from telescopes to ad-breaks
...law to be considered when dealing with human activity in outer space is international law. The operative international framework is to be found in the Outer Space Treaty (OST) 1967, a treaty of the United Nations to which all of the major spacefaring...
September 2021
Near space - the air-space boundary question, astronauts and space tourism
... conducted their first flights. That said, when contemplating the lawfulness of any activity in outer space, the first port of call is the Outer Space Treaty (OST). View from above - Virgin Galactic’s Vice President of Government Affairs & Research...
April 2019
Is a military space force justified?
...operating the invaded facility is also required to be authorised by its state of nationality. From the perspective of the Outer Space Treaty, an invasion against the authorised facilities of a company is the same as an attack on the authorising state...
July 2020
Pandemic in space – are we ready?
... was hailed as a “reference standard for spacefaring nations in guiding compliance with Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty”. Under a later space law treaty, the Rescue and Return Agreement, States are obliged to share information on “conditions...
May 2025
Mythologies of Outer Space - A new perspective on the final frontier
... its environmental and ethical dimensions. He also critiques the inadequacies of existing space treaties, such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which lacks clear enforcement mechanisms to prevent the monopolisation of celestial resources. Instead...
