Possible approach to establish international rules of emerging space activities - risk-based approach and adaptive governance

Abstract

In May 2021, the Supplementary Requirements for a License to Operate a Spacecraft Performing On-Orbit Servicing were established and published in Japan. The Supplementary Requirements were made as the Rules for a person who intends to carry out on-orbit servicing mission including active debris removal. The Rules were to be reflected in the licensing schemes within the already existent framework of the Space Activities Act, which provides the requirements to obtain a license to control a spacecraft in Japan. Consisting of legal, technical, and organizational requirements, the Rules provide a framework to carry out on-orbit servicing mission based on the agreements and consents among the stakeholders. The Rules address the legal and technical risks derived especially from the rendezvous and proximity operations phases in the on-orbit servicing mission profile. This framework implicates the principles of safe and transparent operations as the norms for the on-orbit servicing missions, and its approach demonstrates adaptive governance in the sense that the Rules were deliberated among multi-sector stakeholders, they are expected to be introduced and extended internationally, and they are flexible to technology development. This paper explains the Rules from the points of view of risk-based approach and adaptive governance and aims to gain the perspectives on the possible approaches to establish the international rules and norms for emerging space activities.