Abstract: Recently, the issue of the delimitation and definition of outer space has been put back on the agenda of the Legal Subcommittee of UNCOPUOS. This issue has of course many complex features. It effectively revisits the fundamental but rather theoretical debate between proponents of 'spatialism' and adherents to 'functionalism' when it comes to defining the essence of international space law. It reflects on a measure of absence of political will to establish any rigid delimitation and definition ahead of technical or other developments which may tend to ignore such legal borderlines. Moreover, even amongst those agreeing on the need to settle the issue, substantial differences of opinion rule as to for example where any borderline would have to be drawn. Either way, the fact that the issue is back on the agenda of the world's most authoritative space law-making institution, signifies that no arguments have so far been able to settle the matter once and for all. The present paper represents an effort to add another perspective to this debate. It is clear, that in the absence of any unequivocal and authoritative agreement so far on the international level, no treaty law exists settling the matter. No uniform interpretation, definition and delimitation of outer space and outer space law can be distilled. However, this does not exclude the possibility of customary law taking the place of treaty provisions on such principled matters. For the formation of customary law, the opinio juris sive necessitatis of individual states is a crucial factor. Copyright ©1998 by F.G. von der Dunk . Especially important in this context is the opinio juris of states which occupy a special and outstanding position in the field at issue. Such an opinio juris of an individual state could, in principle, very well be given shape in the form of national legislation on the relevant issue. The paper presents an effort to analyze the five cases of national space legislation presently in existence from that perspective. This concerns, in a non-chronological order, the Russian Federation, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and South Africa. In other words: the first and second nation in space ever and today still the world's space superpowers, the third depositary of the first three space treaties, the state with the Northern-most operational space-base and the state with (in all probability) the Southern-most operational spacebase. Analysis of these cases thus might indeed have considerable relevance for the development of international space law on this issue. After an overview of the main arguments and issues on the international level, it will be evaluated therefore, whether these cases can give a further clue as to the debate on the delimitation-and-definition issue. To what extent do these laws proceed, explicitly or implicitly, from the concept of outer space as a distinct legal realm? To what extent would they perhaps provide arguments to establish the borderline of outer space at a certain height, assuming that the need for such delimitation is confirmed? In sum, to what extent do these five pieces of domestic legislation contribute to the further codification and development of international space law, amongst others as undertaken by UNCOPUOS? • Co-Director, International Institute of Air and Space Law, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Member IISL; Board Member, ECSL; Member, AIAA; Member ILA; Corresponding Member, CIDA-E. 254 von der Dunk in Proceedings of the Forty-First Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 254-264 (1998). Copyright 1998, F.G. von der Dunk. Used by permission.

Abstract: The future of European space exploration rides on the success - or failure - of its joint agency, ESA. When most people reflect on the early days of space exploration, their minds turn to the highly publicized programs of the former Soviet Union and the United States. But beginning in the early 1960s, Europe boasted its own space programs, although these programs' achievements were often dwarfed by those of the two space superpowers. Indeed, while the United States and the former Soviet Union attempted to outpace each other in the race to send humans on ever more-sophisticated missions, the European program remained intent on establishing its prowess in the realm of satellite launches that promised both scientific discoveries and down-to-Earth benefits. Among these benefits were mapping weather patterns, enhancing navigation and communication, and above all, developing an efficient and independent rocket to launch commercial-communication satellites into orbit. Today, as a result, Europe owns more than half of the world's commercial satellite market. Europe's twin space programs, the European Space Research Organization (ESRO) and the European Launcher Development Organization (ELDO), were both begun in 1962, one year after U.S. astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space. While ESRO was devoted primarily to exploration of space using space probes carried on American-made rockets, ELDO sought to develop its own launcher to provide Europe access to space independent of the two ranking space superpowers. Despite their early entry into the space race, ESRO and ELDO were not the first space agencies to be created in Europe. That distinction goes to France's Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (National Center for the Study of Space [CNES]), which was established in 1961. In 1965, CNES initiatives allowed France to become the third nation to launch a satellite into space using its own resources. From the Ground up Beginning in the early 1960s, many European countries sought to create a continent-wide space program, realizing that their combined technological strength was much greater than the sum of their individual resources. Among them were France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, all of which boasted space programs and organizations of their own. ESRO originated in the minds of a few visionary scientists, including Edoardo Amaldi of Italy and Pierre Auger of France. Both men had played a role in creating a similar European-wide nuclear-research organization-the Centre Europeen de Recherches Nucleaires (European Center for Nuclear Research [CERN]) - in the mid-1950s. CERN was devoted to nuclear science rather than space exploration, but it nonetheless proved that a Europe-wide science consortium could function efficiently. Following the success of CERN, Amaldi and Auger realized that the nations of Europe could not hope to compete with the space programs of the Soviets and Americans unless they pooled their intellectual and technological resources. In addition to the European countries that had already established space programs, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland - nations unable to create space programs on their own - also hoped to contribute to the continent-wide research effort. Thereafter, ESRO became the first truly international organization devoted exclusively to space science. In particular, ESRO sought to develop artificial satellites and sounding rockets, which, for the most part, explored atmospheric conditions at various altitudes and carried instruments for observation of the sun and stars from above the Earth's atmosphere. Development of powerful launching systems capable of carrying satellites into outer space was not part of the organization's mission, however. In fact, most of ESRO's projects relied on U.S. boosters to carry them aloft. Not so with ELDO, which from the beginning sought to develop rocket systems and launchers. …

Abstract: : The spaceplane could be the most desirable form of space transportation in the next century. However, accompanying it are questions of whether a boundary is needed between airspace and outer space, and whether the current definition of space object' in the outer space treaties is adequate to include these hybrid vehicles. This thesis concludes that the spaceplane does not portend the need for a boundary and that it will not require the development of a new definition. Chapter 1 describes some of the best known spaceplane initiatives. Chapters II and III, respectively, discuss the air law and space law regimes and arguments made for and against establishing a boundary between airspace and outer space. Chapter IV describes debates regarding the sufficiency of the term space object' as it is defined in the space law regime. Chapter V analyzes the impact that spaceplanes will have on the boundary and space object' debates.

Abstract: After the Cold War the space programs of individual nations and world-wide space activity had to learn the rules and the laws of economics since this is the only reliable means of survival in conditions of a radical change in world economy and international relations the principles and procedures of resource allocation for space activity have been drastically revised There will be no “crash” space programs or the “Apollo” and “Star Wars” type in the foreseeable future National and international space projects will have to prove their competitiveness across the board in real terms of economic efficiency a perspective on economic benefits and economic incentives for space activity in conditions of the growing world market of space goods and services is put forward in this paper

Abstract: Forty years have passed since the first Explorer orbiting observatory - the 1958 mission used to discover the Van Allen radiation belts outside the atmosphere - ushered in the modern age of space science. Even though in situ observations of outer space are still restricted to measurements made within the solar system, we now have access to a wide range of cosmic signals, extending from the well understood microwave photons indicative of the earliest epoch of the universe to those apparently inexplicable ultra-high energy extragalactic cosmic ray particles that are too energetic (up to 50 Joules/each) to have survived passage through a cosmological extent of the pervasive thermal relic radiation field. In this lecture the extremes of cosmic ray physics are discussed within the context of particles having the lowest energy (down to ~10**3 eV/nucleon) and highest energy (>10**20 eV), emphasizing those aspects of astronomy, particularly gamma-ray and x-ray, that appear to be especially revealing for these regimes.

Abstract: Particle physics started as the study of cosmic rays. After having settled on the ground for half a century, it is about to conquer the outer space with satellite and space shuttle borne instruments. Particle physics has actually strong connections with astrophysics and cosmology. This contribution deals with a few of these ties. The exploration of the gamma ray sky and the study of cosmic rays are just two examples of the bright future awaiting high energy physics in space.

Abstract: Science may be seen as a journey, encompassing both inner and outer space on the quest for greater understanding of the universe. This can take literal form, such as the journey toward ever farther, faster flight regimes of experimental aircraft like the X-30, or here on Earth aboard a high-speed train that levitates on magnetic rails. Or the journey can take theoretical form in scientific instruments that measure the smallest particles of matter on Earth and peer into the black holes of space. From the human eye to ‘eye in the sky’ space telescopes, science continually extends our vision of the universe.

Abstract: The Proceedings of the Conferences on Air and Space Law, organized in Asia by the Asian Institute of Air and Space Law, are establishing themselves as a major source of up-to-date and thought-provoking literature on the latest international developments. The organizers have again succeeded in attracting the most influential and provocative contributors, and their well-edited papers make a significant addition to the worldwide discussions on the vital question of the use of Air and Outer Space.