Starting from October 4, 1957, space has become not just a part of human endeavour but also a dream of many people and nations to reach out and explore. As a result of the increased societal benefits acquired from activities in space, such as those derived from the use of satellites for telecommunications, defence or weather monitoring, future space missions are no longer just a vision.
Space is now commercialised.
In the past, private companies were limited to that of government contractors, mainly because in the late 1960s, space-faring activities were predominantly centered around the development of military missions that aimed at enhancing national security, human-crewed missions to space or the launch of commercial satellites.
Since then, several factors, such as scientific advancements, the growing interest of space-faring nations to benefit from space activities, and the possibility of asset recovery have increased the private sector’s share in space flight.
In contrast to governmental space agencies (with focus on the general development of space exploration), private companies are operated by profitability and the interests of the entity’s shareholders. Thus, they are less likely to join an endeavour purely for the generation of knowledge.
It suggests that the influence of private commercialisation of space will initially be limited and contingent on the ability of the given private company to generate sustainable income.
In turn, this increased participation of the private sector in human-crewed and crewless space missions may lead us to a point in time where we may not be able to carry out many activities in space in the future.
In the past couple of years, private companies have been increasingly responsible for managing or supporting operations related to outer space and are now capable of launching their satellites into low earth orbit.
According to modern literature, these missions may have the potential to provide tangible and intangible benefits.
However, they are also subject to public criticism, given that increased awareness about environmental protection and preservation has ignited debates surrounding the socio-environmental and financial sustainability of space exploration.
Our space is now suffering from a lot of debris, even the ISS and other satellites are under threat because we can’t predict when a small bolt with high velocity will bring disaster.
Under these circumstances, it is essential to explore the current legal framework concerning space to make the private industry provide the assurance before undertaking high-risk space missions.
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