Collaboration in the Exploration of Outer Space: Using ADR to Resolve Conflicts in Space
![handle is hein.journals/cardcore7 and id is 449 raw text is: COLLABORATION IN THE EXPLORATION OF
OUTER SPACE: USING ADR TO RESOLVE
CONFLICTS IN SPACE
By: Ka Fei Wong
I. INTRODUCTION
History may remember the year 2004 as the year when the
world once again contemplated the creation of outer space' law.
On January 14, 2004, President Bush announced new goals in the
pursuit of space exploration.: Those goals included a return to the
moon by 2020 and using it as a launching point for missions into
1 No clear legal boundary has been established as to what constitutes outer space, although
the international community has indicated a desire to define such a boundary. Report of the
Legal Subcommittee on its Forty-First Session Held in Vienna From 2 to 12 April 2002, U.N.
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, 45th Sess., U.N. Doc. A/AC.105/787, at 10
(2002) (reporting on attempts to define boundaries of outer space, where some members stated
that a lack of such a definition would give rise to disputes between countries, while others felt
that a rigid definition would not respond effectively to technological issues associated with outer
space). See, e.g., R. Thomas Rankin, Note, Space Tourism: Fanny Packs, Ugly T-Shirts, and the
Law in Outer Space, 36 SUFFOLK U. L. REV. 695, 698 (2003) (defining outer space, arbitrarily, at
100 nautical miles). But see James A. Beckman, Citizens Without a Forum: The Lack of an
Appropriate and Consistent Remedy for United States Citizens Injured or Killed as the Result of
Activity Above the Territorial Air Space, 22 B.C. INT'L & COMp. L. REV. 249, 253 (1999) ([Iln
recent years, due to immense strides in technology and space activities, the term 'outer space'
has been defined by treaty law as territory which is beyond the sovereign claim, laws, or control
of any one nation.). The majority, accepted by most nations, now accept that the boundary
between outer space and air space should be near the lowest altitude (perigee) at which artificial
earth satellites can remain in orbit without being destroyed by friction with the air. See Lubos
Perek, Scientific Criteria for the Delimitation of Outer Space, 5 J. SPACE L. 111, 118 (1977). A
few minorities have called for an approach based upon the theoretical limit of an air flight,
rather than the lowest possible perigee rule of a satellite. For a review of the various theories
regarding the demarcation, see John C. Kunich, Planetary Defense: The Legality of Global Sur-
vival, 41 A.F. L. REV. 119, 130 (1997); Bin Cheng, The Legal Status of Outer Space and Related
Issues: Demilitarization of Outer Space and Definition of Peaceful Use, 11 J. SPACE L. 93, 93-95
(1985). See also Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use
of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, opened for signature Jan. 27,
1967, 18 U.S.T. 2410, 610 U.N.T.S. 205, Article I [hereinafter Outer Space Treaty]. For purposes
of this Note, the boundary is not necessarily important, only that it should apply to any space
activity not already under the jurisdiction of maritime and air space law. I will simply refer to
space law in this Note to connote the area I am covering.
2 George W. Bush, Remarks by the President on U.S. Space Policy at NASA Headquarters:
President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program, (Jan. 14, 2004), http://
www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040114-3.html (Jan. 14, 2004).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/cardcore7&div=24&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Collaboration in the Exploration of Outer Space: Using ADR to Resolve Conflicts in Space
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