Their military utility remains ever present, although the reality is that space assets are increasingly used for terrestrial military activities. Only subsequently were they utilised for commercial and civil purposes as well. This follows on from the fact that most space-related technology was initially conceived and developed through military eyes and for military goals. Indeed, the successful launch of Sputnik generated unease in the Western world because the technology used was similar to that used for ballistic missiles.Īlthough there are some restrictions, the five United Nations-sponsored space law treaties that have emerged from that period only proscribe military-related activities in relatively general terms which are open to varying interpretations as to what they do, and do not, prohibit, depending on one’s perspective. The possibility of large scale and potentially highly destructive military conflict between the (space) superpowers always lurked in the background. This was largely due to the fact that the early stages of human space activity coincided with a period of quite considerable Cold War tension. At the same time, however, the existing legal regime has not prevented the development of military technology capable of using outer space. In this regard, space law has played a positive role by allowing for-and not unduly restricting-the development of space-related technology.
These include activities involving satellite telecommunications, global positioning systems, remote sensing technology for weather forecasting and disaster management, and television broadcast from satellites.
Since then, international law has developed to facilitate the use of technologies in a broad range of ways, with the diversity of space activities growing exponentially given the rapidly expanding capabilities of that technology. What had previously only been within the realm of the hypothetical was suddenly a reality and there was a need to regulate the exploration and use of outer space. The successful launch in 1957 of the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, gave rise to the beginning of the space race. It’s a reminder that space is not yet a regulated space. On Monday, Chinese space station Tiangong-1 fell into to the Pacific Ocean after being out of control for the last two years.
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