Content area
Full Text
Abstract
The uptick in outer space exploration activity by spacefaring nations has resulted in the increased proliferation of space debris orbiting Earth and reentering its atmophere. The current liability regime, which was enacted as a result of the U.S.-Soviet Union space race in the 1960s and '70s, is ill-equipped to mitigate and deter such prolferation. Without proactive measures, the space debris buildup could escalate into the Kessler Syndrome, a proposed scenario in which space exploration, and its correponding benefits, may be rendered infeasible due to the extreme risk of high-impact space object collisions. This Comment first analyzes existing proposals for amending the outer space treaty liability regime. Next, to argue that pacefaring states have an affirmative reponsibility to remove space debris that originates from their satellites and space objects, this Comment applies three landmark principles of customary international law: the polluter pays principle, the precautionary principle, and the prohibition against transboundary harm. Finally, this Commentprposes a novel solution to establish a security deposit program that participating spacefaring nations must pay into in order to launch objects and satellites into outer space, modeled after existing international environmental law efforts to solve the issue of marine debris. Focusing on preventative measures to reduce the amount of space debris produced in outer space is the most effective solution to ensure the continued use of space as a shared resource for pacefaring nations.
I. Introduction
The week of May 8, 2021, frightened the world as it awaited the potential uncontrolled reentry of a section of China's Long March 5B rocket, which had been launched from China's Wenchang Space Launch Center on April 29, 2021, for the purpose of delivering a module of the Tianhe Space Station.1 Thankfully, the section did not land over any populated area; rather, it landed in the middle of the Indian Ocean.2
This is just one of many examples of unchecked space debris currently floating around Earth. This collection of orbital debris poses a potential liability problem to the future of deep space exploration, given the relatively relaxed approach as a result of the gap in regulation3 of both accidental and purposeful rocket reentry under international law.4 Space law experts strongly believe that the reentry of the Long March 5B section is a symptom...