3.3.7. Better international regulation and globally coordinated oversight/enforcement
We need coordinated international regulation of the satellite constellation industry with oversight and enforcement, in contrast to the current regulatory maze of siloed issues enabling business as usual. Most of the constituencies polled by the Community Engagement WG want industry to slow down until meaningful solutions can be developed in consensus, involving youth and communities. The fallout from unregulated unchecked satellite constellation launches includes dramatic predicted increases in all of the following: space debris, radio frequency interference, orbital traffic and collisions, environmental fallout in the upper atmosphere or oceans after satellite decommissioning, and global sky brightness (not just individual satellite constellation streaks) washing out fainter stars or meteors and undermining dedicated dark sky parks and preserves.
Lastly, the Community Engagement WG views the SATCON2 workshop as the beginning, rather than the end, of a long overdue conversation that was prompted by satellite constellations, but extending to far broader issues of preserving space and the night sky as a scientific, environmental and cultural commons for humanity. The Community Engagement WG urges active engagement and long-term relationship-building amongst industry, leadership, all space actors and communities representing the diversity of stakeholders in our shared skies so we can co-create an inclusive, ethical, and sustainable approach to space.
3.4. Policy Working Group
The Policy WG had the far-reaching charge of reviewing existing national policies and regulatory frameworks.
3.4.1. International Law and Treaties
The Outer Space Treaty (OST[1]) is a legal instrument that is binding on the States that have signed and ratified it (110 ratifications and 23 signatures to date). The foundational principle of the OST and related UN space treaties, namely the freedom of exploration and use of space, has been recognized as customary international law, binding all States[2]. Article I states that “[t]here shall be freedom of scientific investigation in outer space” and that “States shall facilitate and encourage international co-operation in such investigation.” This aspect is exceptionally relevant to mitigating the impact that satellite constellations may have on astronomy, which could be partially mitigated with a continuous exchange of information and data. Article IX of the OST suggests that the US and other parties to the OST have an obligation to implement activities in space with due regard to the corresponding interests of other States in respect of potential light pollution created by satellite constellations.
Article II of the OST establishes that “Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.” The conditions for a safe, stable, and sustainable environment should not ignore considerations regarding the impact that space activities, albeit coordinated, can have on ground-based activities. The legal principles contained in Article VI of the OST, namely (a) State responsibility for national space activities, including those pursued by nongovernmental entities; and (b) authorization and continuing supervision of such activities by a State, provide two important safeguards for the conduct of space activities by non-governmental entities of a State. The US position has always been that private agencies would not be free to engage in space programs without governmental permission and continuing governmental supervision. A good starting point would be to conduct due diligence concerning the activities of commercial satellite operators, specifically regarding the impact of in-orbit operation of such activities.
3.4.2. US National Law
A variety of existing local, state, and national regulations and laws, coupled with the policy rationales for those measures, support the inclusion, as a condition of licensing commercial satellites and in particular satellite constellations, of an obligation to reduce the detrimental effect of such satellites on astronomy to the greatest degree practicable. Nineteen US states, plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico, have enacted laws to address light pollution. Federal agencies are now also taking affirmative steps to protect the sky at night from light pollution. The federal system of protected lands has grown, and agencies have come to recognize that a
- ↑ Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, 1966, https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/outer-spacetreaty.html
- ↑ https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/status/index.html
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