Impacts by asteroids or comets on Earth may lead to natural disasters of catastrophic dimensions. This book addresses legal and policy aspects of ‘planetary defence’ activities by space agencies and other actors aiming at the prediction and mitigation of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs).

The ecology of international security / Charles D. Ferguson. Assessment of RDD event medical response, recovery, and mitigation in a world of one science / Annette Sobel. Defeating religious terrorism - what will it take? / Pervez Hoodbhoy. Terrorism threats due to weapons of mass disturbance / Friedrich Steinhausler. Cell phones, texting, position reporting, and self-assembly in emergency response management / Robert V. Duncan -- 10. Special session : lectio magistralis. Why science is needed in everyday life / Ignazio La Russa -- 11. Climate. Focus : data, mathematical structures and predictions. Carbon dioxide, friend or foe. William Happer. Climate sensitivity : various approaches / Richard S. Lindzen. Climategate and the inquiries / Stephen McIntyre. Energy legislation in the USA / Richard Wilson -- 12. WFS general meeting. PMP reports - debate and conclusions. Permanent monitoring panel on motivations for terrorism / Lord John Alderdice. 2010 progress report of the MCD-2/7 project and 2011 research project. East-Africa AIDS Research Centre at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe Uganda / Franco M. Buonaguro. Mother and child health PMP : maternal and child mortality is a planetary emergency, report of 2010 activities / Nathalie Charpak, J.G. Ruiz and S.D. Leon-Mendoza. Permanent monitoring panel report on limits of development / Christopher D. Ellis. Pollution permanent monitoring panel - 2010 annual report / Lorne G. Everett. Report of the energy permanent monitoring panel / William Fulkerson, J, Ongena and C. Difiglio. PMP report for cosmic objects / Walter F. Huebner. Annual report permanent monitoring panel on mitigation of terrorist acts / Alan Leigh Moore, Jr. Information security PMP report / Henning Wegener and Jody R. Westby -- 13. Seminar participants -- 14. Ettore Majorana Erice Science for Peace Prize

From Space debris to asteroid strikes to anti-satellite weapons, humanity's rapid expansion into Space raises major environmental, safety, and security challenges. In this book, Michael Byers and Aaron Boley, an international lawyer and an astrophysicist, identify and interrogate these challenges and propose actionable solutions. They explore essential questions from, 'How do we ensure all of humanity benefits from the development of Space, and not just the world's richest people?' to 'Is it possible to avoid war in Space?' Byers and Boley explain the essential aspects of Space science, international law, and global governance in a fully transdisciplinary and highly accessible way. Addressing the latest and emerging developments in Space, they equip readers with the knowledge and tools to engage in current and critically important legal, policy, and scientific debates concerning the future development of Space. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

This book offers diverse, multinational perspectives on traditional and emergent issues in the practice and study of international law. It deals with the evolving foundations of international law and covers a wide range of issues that link international politics to international law.

Insurance related to outer space activities has been around since the 1960s, but has become vastly more significant with the increased commercial use of satellites. This book focuses on the legal aspects of space insurance in the contractual context, analysing space risk as well as the insurance terms used on the market. It offers the first in-depth coverage, both practical and theoretical, of space insurance from an international law perspective. Attending throughout to the important and problematic distinction between the space segment (upstream) and ground segment (downstream) in space law, this book deals comprehensively with such issues and topics as the following: - the main hazards relating to space activities; - the impact of new space technologies on the level of risk and insurance; - the differing types of risks attributable to various entities in the context of insurable interest; - aspects of the space risk allocation regimes and risk assessment; - the impact of the five ‘space treaties’ – the Outer Space Treaty, the Liability Convention, the Rescue Agreement, the Registration Convention and the Moon Agreement – on the subject and scope of insurance coverage; - the advent of suborbital flight, commercial human space flight and space tourism in the context of emerging insurance risks; - the problem of space debris; - contractual aspects of space activities affecting the space insurance risks; - basic notions such as ‘outer space’, ‘space object’ in the context of space activities and related insurance coverage; - basic insurance principles and their operation in the space insurance; and - the adjustment of losses and the settlement of disputes in space insurance. The author emphasises the need to understand the various insurance risks facing particular types of commercial space activities, including pre-launch, launch, transportation, spaceflight, satellite communications, satellite navigation, satellite remote sensing and space station operation. Satellites are increasingly a vital part of many daily activities of contemporary society and the Earth’s orbit is becoming ever more crowded, heightening the risks of collision, damage and claims. This thoroughly researched book will therefore be extremely useful to lawyers, policymakers and academics tasked with defining the scope of insurance coverage that accurately mirrors technological, contractual and legal reality. Its practical aspect will be of extraordinary value to insurance lawyers, underwriters and brokers.

This book is the highly anticipated sequel to the previous volume under the same title, dedicated to presenting a diverse range of timely and valuable contributions on the legal and policy related questions evoked by satellite constellations, including emerging mega-constellations. Given the proliferation of activities in the field of satellite constellations, and the critical roles they play in supporting and enabling communication, navigation, disaster monitoring, Earth observation, security and scientific activities, the insights of legal and policy experts from around the world have been gathered in this second volume to help expand the scientific literature in this precious field. Topics range from legal obstacles and opportunities facilitating small satellite enterprise for emerging space actors, international cooperation in the compatibility and interoperability of navigation systems, the designation of satellite constellations as critical space infrastructure, to an analysis of the paradigm shift which has occurred over the last decade to make the proliferation of small satellite constellations possible, and more.

Planetary defense from near-Earth objects such as asteroids is a far more nuanced and challenging topic than it might seem. Each day, technology is making it easier to detect asteroid impact threats in advance, but at present, there is still no easy way to design and implement any form of global defense. This book examines how various asteroid deflection methods can change global political affairs. The authors believe that the final policy for potential Earth impacts should be based on practical engineering solutions and innovative architectural structures, while at the same time reflecting the most recent political science contributions in ethical security studies and security cosmopolitanism. Their focus is not limited to effective engineering solutions, but rather extends to how such proposals resonate in possible political structures of the future. Planetary defense cannot be achieved with technology alone; the chapters in this volume highlight the issues that arise when space science and technology intersect with political science. This complex interdisciplinary project not only demands global participation and collaboration, but also proposes the way we can achieve it. The authors explore various concepts of governance and their far-reaching implications for planetary defense and vice versa—how scientific progress in Solar System observations and asteroid collision engineering influence political science and put pressure on the international legal framework. The text is intentionally written for a diverse scholarly and diplomatic audience in a style accessible to non-specialists and practitioners and can be read by those across diverse disciplinary backgrounds.

Francis Lyall and Paul B. Larsen have been involved in teaching and researching space law for over 50 years. This new edition of their well-received text gathers together their knowledge and experience in readable form, and covers developments in all space applications, including space tourism, telecommunications, the ITU and finance. With an extensive citation of the literature, the discussion provides an excellent source for both students and practitioners.

This book is based on the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Global Space Governance study commissioned by the 2014 Montreal Declaration that called upon civil society, academics, governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders to undertake an international interdisciplinary study. The study took three years to complete. It examines the drivers of space regulations and standards, key regulatory problems, and especially addresses possible improvements in global space governance. The world's leading experts led the drafting of chapters, with input from academics and knowledgeable professionals in the public and private sectors, intergovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations from all the regions of the world with over 80 total participants. This book and areas identified for priority action are to be presented to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and it is hoped will be considered directly or indirectly at the UNISPACE+50 event in Vienna, Austria, in 2018. The report, a collective work of all the contributors, includes objective analysis and frank statements expressed without pressure of political, national, and occupational concerns or interest. It is peer-reviewed and carefully edited to ensure its accuracy, preciseness, and readability. It is expected that the study and derivative recommendations will form the basis for deliberations and decisions at international conferences and meetings around the world on the theme of global space governance. This will hopefully include future discussion at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.