Space Policy最新文献

The topic of Chinese commercial space has been the subject of a growing number of publications in English since the beginning of the decade, which raises the necessity of clarifying the concept and policy framework. This article focuses on the case of launcher industry and launch services. A historical review allows to underline the existence of two waves in the country's commercial space launch activities, which should be distinguished: an “old commercial space” or commercialization from the 1980s, mainly concerning state-owned enterprises; and a “new commercial space” from the middle of the decade 2010, seeking to involve capital and companies not stemming from the central state. This evolution is reflected in the selection of three primary texts for which clarification is given in terms of nature, enacting bodies, organization, content, and relevance. Chinese commercial launch policy framework shows its integration into broader economic concerns at two points in time in a specific historical context: encouragement of the national military–industrial conglomerate to engage in profit-making activities – via international marketing of Long March launch services –in the first case and in the second case, invitation of non–central state and private investors and entrepreneurs to participate in innovation priority fields. As means to implement the latter objectives, several policy instruments are identified: definition of the desired activity and clarification of organs in charge, authorization system, and economic incentives.

At first glance, taxing mining in outer space may seem like a marginal issue. However, based on the experience of taxation on Earth, it will be a prerequisite for ensuring peace in outer space.

The aim of this study is therefore to propose a way of taxing asteroid mining to eliminate economic inequalities between states on Earth and to reduce the future threat of space colonies and extra-terrestrials claiming asset-based benefits.

The study proposes the institution of a tax administrator to oversee taxation as appropriate. At the same time, a procedure has been proposed for determining the tax base using normal prices for specific commodities.

An important prerequisite for fair and sustainable taxation is the determination of the optimal tax rate. A progressive tax rate has been proposed that takes into account future developments in space mining. The proposal is divided into three stages to take into account potential collaboration with space colonies and possible clashes with alien civilizations.

Space activities and infrastructure today are critical to international security and the global economy. The space domain is not, however, subject to sovereign control by international law. Like other shared domains, such as the high seas, the polar regions, and arguably cyberspace, space is a domain in which State and non-State actors interact beyond national borders. Given global dependence on space-derived information and an increase in potential adversary threats to space assets, States have taken a number of steps in recent years to protect their national interests in space. Despite its importance and increasing global attention, international cooperation and competition in space is a relatively under theorized topic in international relations. Conversely, international relations theories are not widely used in the development of United States (U.S.) national space policy and the practice of space diplomacy, from a U.S. perspective. The intent of this article is to address this rift between theory and policy by briefly describing major theories of international relations and where they can shed light on how and why States engage in cooperation and competition in space. The article addresses the major schools of realism, liberalism, and constructivism, with applications to space activity. No single theory fully describes the U.S. policy approach to international space activities. Different theories, applied to the same situation, can, however, provide useful perspectives to both theorists and policy-makers. This suggests the use of a mixed, pragmatic approach, referred to as “eclectic theorizing” in international relations literature, as a promising avenue for further research.

China's rise as a global power and its pursuit of space technologies have increased India's insecurity. To address the challenge of China (and benefit from the technological revolution), India has invested heavily in the space sector. Its space program benefits from indigenous innovations and international cooperation. However, its military achievements in the space domain have aggravated Pakistan's sense of insecurity. Pakistan's financial and technological limitations have forced it to look toward China to mitigate the Indian threat and maintain the balance of power in South Asia. In addition to great power competition in the region, these perceptions of security and insecurity and states' efforts to maximize their security are likely to exacerbate competition and negatively affect the prospects of mediation.

Since the beginning, the critical focus of India's space programme has been investing in space technologies for the purposes of socioeconomic development. Nonetheless, India's space agenda has always remained dynamic and over the years the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been undertaking various scientific and commercial value programmes, such as launching an astronomical satellite, undertaking missions to the Moon and Mars, launching satellites for navigation and developing the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. Today India has increasing concerns about the security of its space assets. On 27 March 2019, the Indian Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted an anti-satellite test (ASAT). This act is said to have transformed India's strategic calculations in the domain of space. This test indicates that India is trying to redefine its own responses to space security challenges. This article attempts to recognise India's atypical space security challenges and debates on the possible response mechanism to these security challenges. The article further argues that constituting an Indian Space Force could be the most apt response mechanism in this context.

Tension between competition and cooperation is common in space activities. China's role in spearheading the International Lunar Research Station, in direct opposition to the US-led Artemis program, demonstrates its strong determination to upgrade its space cooperation. The configuration discourse on the International Lunar Research Station and the Artemis program is clearing a path for a new mixture structure and the interplay of competition and cooperation among space powers. The evolution of China's approach to space cooperation––from an emphasis on national independence to initiating multilateral cooperative platforms––provides insights into understanding the dynamics between techno-nationalism and external constraints, as well as the motivation to increase and an approach towards actually increasing soft power, alongside the development of hard power. This decade-lasting dynamics determines that openness and neutrality are viable means to guarantee the international prospect of China's lunar cooperation platform. Well-designed and targeted engagement measures and overall neutral strategies are needed to realise openness and promote neutrality. To compensate for China's ‘leadership deficit’ in international cooperation, a practical way forward is taking the Artemis program as a point of reference and transplanting the successful American experience while also differentiating from the Artemis program. The interplay of competition and cooperation challenges, forces compromise in, and maintains and develops the space order. Leading an international cooperation venture will accrue the soft power China needs to sustain its hard power and bring new positive energy to the space order. China's unique dual identity as a space power and a developing country could contribute to solving the dilemma of democratisation and decentralisation in the development of international space law.

Space education from a social science perspective, rather than exclusively Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) perspectives, is essential to prepare societies and workforces for humanity's spacefaring future. Interdisciplinary general education courses on space policy have the potential to reach students from more majors than single-discipline courses (such as political science) by enrolling a variety of STEM and business students (among other majors) interested in careers with the space bureaucracy and industry. A case study of a course titled “Toward a Spacefaring Society,” taught from political science, sociological, and economic perspectives, demonstrates through analysis of student assessment and evaluation data that the topic is effective at achieving valuable learning outcomes related to research, communication, methods, and theory in the social sciences. Use of a space theme in a general education course is a promising approach to space education because it differs from the previous emphases in space policy education, which stressed building space knowledge and support by liberal arts majors versus critical, analytical skills that benefit all majors and prepare students for future careers in the space field. Higher education faculty with space-related interests should continue to seek opportunities to offer space-themed courses, including those that fulfill general education requirements and achieve broader learning outcomes.

In 2015, highlighting the fundamental role played by connectivity, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reaffirmed its vision to build a competitive, resilient regional community. Information communications technology (ICT) has been highlighted as an essential component to achieve the multiple dimensions of connectivity across the ASEAN member states (AMS). Currently, however, the development of ICT-related infrastructure in individual AMS is uneven, with gaps in development both between and within countries. It is in this ecosystem that satellite constellations may represent a great opportunity to support connectivity, mostly in those geographical areas where the deployment of terrestrial telecommunication infrastructure would either be physically difficult or financially unsustainable.

The space-related industry is not new to ASEAN. Indeed a few of its members have long histories of engaging with various forms of space development, with investments increasing especially in recent years. Among the currently available satellite constellations, one is attracting particular attention: Starlink. But could this network of low Earth orbit satellites really be a changemaker toward the achievement of full regional connectivity, providing a boost in the race to fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals?

To answer this question, we propose a simple two-dimensional framework into which each AMS can be mapped. The two dimensions are the readiness and usefulness of the adoption of Starlink. The score in each dimension is obtained based on three factors against which the AMS are quantitatively evaluated and ranked. The analysis accounts for the heterogeneity of AMS and is supported by secondary data. The proposed approach provides an easy-to-use tool for policymakers and government bodies, to decide whether or not to invest in the adoption of Starlink as a tool for boosting their race toward sustainable development.

Quantum technologies will have enormous applications in space, especially in sensing and communication. Particularly, many current and future space assets are of dual-use character or specifically designed for military and intelligence purposes. This also applies to quantum technologies. In this contribution, we study possible space-born quantum technologies for defence and intelligence that have the greatest potential to exploit these technologies to the maximum and across the full spectrum of quantum technologies. Their utilisation will lead to joint networks of quantum sensing and quantum communications with other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and laser communication with deployment around the Earth. On the other side, space-based quantum technology design should reflect threats such as laser anti-satellite weapons in the case of larger conflicts.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are increasingly being recognized as important policy goals for organizations across government and the industry. Improved DEI has been linked to both substantive improvement in innovation performance and societal good. However, despite a stated emphasis on DEI, progress has not kept up with aspirations. One indirect policy approach that holds promise is wider adoption of Open Innovation (OI) as part of an innovation toolkit. Proponents contend that OI reduces barriers to entry and garners productive contributions from diverse contributors. While there is anecdotal support for the diversifying potential of OI, so far, there is a dearth of empirical evidence connecting OI to DEI with consideration of performance outcomes, beyond `winners´. To study this link directly, this article leverages data from a previously conducted unique field experiment that explicitly tracked the population of potential solvers and their performance on a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space robotics problem. We found that while OI attracted different solvers than the reference internal workforce, there was important variation in both the extent and direction of the observed differences, with respect to attributes of DEI. For instance, OI attracted proportionally fewer female solvers than the already male-dominated space workforce; and that proportion decreased further among solvers providing quality solutions. On the other hand, OI proved effective at granting access to an international pool of young professionals with potentially novel perspectives. Overall, our findings suggest OI can be an effective tool for achieving some diversity policy goals, but it is not well-suited for achieving all stated aspects of diversity. Therefore, we suggest a more targeted approach to matching the opportunities for OI to achieve specific policy objectives.