International Standards in Regulating Space Travel: Clarifying Ambiguities in the Commercial Era of Outer Space

Authors

Juan Davalos

Abstract

The era of commercial space law has ushered in new commercial uses of space travel not imagined by, and not well governed by, current international space law. In this Comment, Juan Davalos first provides an analysis of the history of space law, from its inception in 1959-1967 to the present. The Comment outlines disparities and ambiguities in terms currently defined in domestic and international law space treaties. The Comment then seeks to clarify these undefined or ambiguous terms, including the definition of a space object, the delineation between Earth's air space and Outer Space, the definition of outer space itself, and the selection of a launching state. The Comment concludes by calling for a more uniform and clear description of the terms and regulations that govern international space law and leadership from the United Nations in establishing these regulations among the spacefaring nations of the world.

Recommended Citation

Juan Davalos, International Standards in Regulating Space Travel: Clarifying Ambiguities in the Commercial Era of Outer Space, 30 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 597 (2016).
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr/vol30/iss4/3