Space Security Law

175 Pages·2011·1.092 MB·English

by  Abeyratne, Ruwantissa

Space Security Law
.
Ruwantissa Abeyratne
Space Security Law
Dr.RuwantissaAbeyratne
InternationalCivilAviationOrganization
999UniversityStreet
MontrealH3C5H7,Quebec
Canada
[email protected]
ISBN978-3-642-16701-0 e-ISBN978-3-642-16702-7
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-16702-7
SpringerHeidelbergDordrechtLondonNewYork
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Preface
Byanymodernstandardsofhumanendeavorandresearch,communicationsmade
possible by global navigation satellite systems and space transportation stand
preeminent in the wonderment they offer. What began as exploration of outer
spaceinthenineteenfiftiesandsixtiesisnowfullblowntourisminspace.Added
tothatisthestartlingpossibilityoftheexistenceoflifeinouterspacewhichmakes
usnotonlythinkbutwonderinamazement.StephenHawking–oneoftheworld’s
mosteminentandknowledgeablephysicists–hasstatedthatinauniversewith100
billiongalaxies,eachcontaininghundredsofmillionsofstars,itisunlikelythatlife
formsarepresentonlyonEarth.Hawkinghasalsosaid:
To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly
rational... the real challenge is working out what aliens might actually be like1 ... I
imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their
homeplanet.Suchadvancedalienswouldperhapsbecomenomads,lookingtoconquerand
colonizewhateverplanetstheycanreach.2
Againstthisbewilderingbackdrop,wecontinuetouseandexploreouterspace,
take pictures, calculate trajectories of planets and determine who owns the moon
andwhatthepurposeofouterspaceexplorationis.Anaddeddimensionistheuse
ofaerospaceinterrestrialtransportationwhereanaerospaceplanewilltakeoffas
an aircraft, go into orbit, enter the atmosphere using the Earth’s orbit into its
destination,cuttingthetraveltimesignificantly.Itissaidthatbyusingthismethod,
air travel time can be reduced drastically. For instance, a journey by air between
LosAngelesandSydney,whichwouldnowtake14to16hoursbyconventionalair
travel, could take 2 hours or less. None of these technological feats would be
possible without the advancement of information technology and computerized
knowledge-sharing.However,withtheadvancementofthistechnologywouldalso
comethethreatofcyberterrorism,whichisarealcauseofconcerntoastronomical
scienceandspacetravel.
1http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7107207.ece#cid¼OTC-RSS
&attr¼797084.
2http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7631252/Stephen-Hawking-alien-life-is-out-there-
scientist-warns.html.
v
vi Preface
InMarch1998,thewebsiteoftheNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministra-
tion(NASA)oftheUnitedStatesreceiveda“denialofservice”attack,calculatedto
affectMicrosoftWindowsNTandWindows95operatingsystems.3Theseattacks
preventedserversfromansweringnetworkconnections;crashedcomputers,causing
abluescreen toappear onthecomputers.Theattackedsystemswererevived,but
thisattackwasafollowupofoneinFebruaryofthesameyear,when,fortwoweeks
the US Defense Department had unclassified networks penetrated, where hackers
accessedpersonnelandpayrollinformation.
Cyber-terrorism has the advantage of anonymity, which enables the hacker to
obviatecheckpointsoranyphysicalevidencebeingtraceabletohimorher.Itisa
lowbudgetformofterrorismwherethe only costs entailed ininterferingwith the
computer programs of a space programme would be those pertaining to the right
computerequipment.
Anyinterferencewithaspaceprogramofanation,whichwouldbeinextricably
linked to peaceful uses of outer space, would tantamount to an act of terrorism
performedagainstinternationalpeace.Themaintenanceofinternationalpeaceand
securityisanimportantobjectiveoftheUnitedNations,4whichrecognizesoneof
itspurposesasbeinginteralia:
To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: take effective collective
measuresforthepreventionandremovalofthreatstothepeace,andforthesuppressionof
actsofaggressionorotherbreachesofpeace,andtobringaboutbypeacefulmeans,andin
conformitywiththeprinciplesofjusticeandinternationallaw,adjustmentorsettlementof
internationaldisputesorsituationswhichmightleadtoabreachofthepeace.5
ItisclearthattheUnitedNationshasrecognizedtheapplicationoftheprinciples
of international law as an integral part of maintaining international peace and
securityandavoidingsituationswhichmayleadtoabreachofthepeace.6
3http://mgrossmanlaw.com/articles/1999/.CharteroftheUnitedNationsandStatuteoftheInter-
national Court of Justice, Department of Public Information, United Nations, New York, DPI/
511–40108(3-90),100Mat1.
4CharteroftheUnitedNationsandStatuteoftheInternationalCourtofJustice,Departmentof
PublicInformation,UnitedNations,NewYork,DPI/511–40108(3-90),100Mat1.
5CharteroftheUnitedNationsandStatuteoftheInternationalCourtofJustice,Departmentof
PublicInformation,UnitedNations,NewYork,DPI/511–40108(3-90),100Mat3.
6On17November1989theUnitedNationsGeneralAssemblyadoptedResolution44/23which
declaredthattheperiod1990-1999bedesignatedastheUnitedNationsDecadeofInternational
Law(thefulltextofResolution44/23isannexedasAppendix1attheendofthetextofthisthesis).
Themainpurposesofthedecadehavebeenidentifiedinteraliaas:
(a) Thepromotionoftheacceptanceoftheprinciplesofinternationallawandrespecttherefore
(b) The promotion of the means and methods for the peaceful settlement of disputes between
StatesincludingresorttotheinternationalCourtofJusticewithfullrespecttherefore
(c) Thefullencouragementoftheprogressivedevelopmentofinternationallawanditscodification
(d) The encouragement of the teaching, studying, dissemination and wider appreciation of
internationallaw
Preface vii
No treatise on space transportation should be without a discussion on the
relationshipbetweenairtravelandspacetravelintheparticularcontextofthelegal
regimes and political commonalities that apply. Therefore, against the variegated
background of bewilderment and cautious optimism that space transportation
offers, this book begins with an expose´ on international politics, the principles of
whichbearuponspacetransportationandtheclosenessofairspaceandouterspace
andactivitiesthatstraddlebothfrontiersatthesametime.Itdiscussescurrentissues
andpossibilitiesofcommunicationsandtransportationinouterspaceaswellasthe
liabilitiesandaccountabilityofthekeyplayersofspaceexploration.
Montreal,QC,Canada RuwantissaAbeyratne
30August2010
Reference
AbeyratneRIR(1992)TheUnitedNationsdecadeofinternational law.IntJPolit
CultSoc5(3):511–523
ThefourtasksoftheResolutionhavebeenpredicateduponthefactthatthepurposeoftheUnited
Nationsistomaintainpeaceandsecurity.SeeResolutionsandDecisionsAdoptedbytheGeneral
Assembly During its Forty Fourth Session, Vol. 1, 19 Sept – 29 Dec 1989, General Assembly
OfficialRecords:FortyFourthSession,SupplementNo.49(A/44/49),UnitedNations,NewYork,
1990,31.ForadetaileddiscussiononResolution44/23seeAbeyratne(1992),pp.511–523.
.
Contents
1 TheShiftingFocus ......................................................... 1
InternationalPolitics ........................................................ 7
AirSpaceandOuterSpace ................................................. 10
References .................................................................. 14
2 SpaceSecurity ............................................................. 15
TheGlobalNavigationSatelliteSystem ................................... 20
References .................................................................. 27
3 IsThereLifeinOuterSpace? ............................................ 29
WhatShouldWeDoIfWeFindLifeinOuterSpace? .................... 36
Reference ................................................................... 40
4 SpaceTourism ............................................................. 41
WhoIsaSpaceTourist? ................................................... 43
ConductoftheSpaceTourist .............................................. 45
References .................................................................. 49
5 LegalandRegulatoryRegime ............................................ 51
ComparisonBetweenSpaceLawandMaritimeLaw ..................... 59
References .................................................................. 64
6 IssuesofAerospaceInsurance ........................................... 65
TheSpaceInsuranceIndustry .............................................. 66
References .................................................................. 71
7 TheAirTransportInsuranceIndustry .................................. 73
References .................................................................. 82
8 TheApplicationofIntellectualPropertyRightstoOuterSpace
Activities ................................................................... 83
Territoriality ................................................................ 83
SpaceLawPrinciples ....................................................... 85
TradeRelatedActivitiesofIntellectualProperty .......................... 92
ix