A Regional Space Agency for Latin America
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Studies in Space Policy Volume 32 Series Editor European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria Edited by: European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria Director: Jean-Jacques Tortora Editorial Advisory Board: Marek Banaszkiewicz Karel Dobeš Genevieve Fioraso Stefania Giannini Gerd Gruppe Max Kowatsch Sergio Marchisio Fritz Merkle Margit Mischkulnig Dominique Tilmans Frits von Meijenfeldt https://espi.or.at/about-us/governing-bodies The use of outer space is of growing strategic and technological relevance. The development of robotic exploration to distant planets and bodies across the solar system, as well as pioneering human space exploration in earth orbit and of the moon, paved the way for ambitious long-term space exploration. Today, space exploration goes far beyond a merely technological endeavour, as its further development will have a tremendous social, cultural and economic impact. Space activities are entering an era in which contributions of the humanities — history, philosophy, anthropology —, the arts, and the social sciences — political science, economics, law — will become crucial for the future of space exploration. Space policy thus will gain in visibility and relevance. The series Studies in Space Policy shall become the European reference compilation edited by the leading institute in the field, the European Space Policy Institute. It will contain both monographs and collections dealing with their subjects in a transdisciplinary way. The volumes of the series are single-blind peer-reviewed. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8167 Annette Froehlich · Diego Alonso Amante Soria A Regional Space Agency for Latin America Legal and Political Perspectives Annette Froehlich Diego Alonso Amante Soria European Space Policy Institute European Space Policy Institute Vienna, Austria Vienna, Austria ISSN 1868-5307 ISSN 1868-5315 (electronic) Studies in Space Policy ISBN 978-3-030-79433-0 ISBN 978-3-030-79434-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79434-7 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. 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This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Acknowledgements Special acknowledgment is expressed to Salvador Landeros Ayala (Mexican Space Agency), César Duarte Muñoz (Mexican Space Agency), Martha Mejía-Kaiser (International Institute of Space Law), Cynthia Jiménez Monroy (Mexican space lawyer), Victoria Cocca y Esquivel (Latin American and Caribbean Space Network), Juan Manuel de Faramiñán Gilbert (University of Jaén), and Brenda Ulate (Central American Association for Aeronautics and Space) for their comments, ideas and inputs for the elaboration of this study. v Introduction States are free to choose the cooperation mechanisms that they consider the most convenient and effective to develop their space sectors and promote their national interests in the regional and international space arenas. In many regions, space cooper- ation has taken different forms since the beginning of the space era. Non-institutional space cooperation mechanisms, such as regional space conferences and multilateral space cooperation agreements, have largely been adopted by a great array of coun- tries. The Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF), and the African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE) are current examples of these mechanisms. Moreover, some countries have joined their efforts to estab- lish regional institutional space cooperation mechanisms, for example, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT), and the Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications (INTERSPUTNIK).1 These institutional and non-institutional mechanisms are embedded in specific regional contexts and are influenced by geographical, historic, political, economic, social, technical and scientific considerations. In Latin America, there are several space related cooperation mechanisms. On one side there are non-institutional space cooperation mechanisms such as the Space Conference of the Americas (SCA) and the RELACA-Espacio Network (RELACA- Espacio), which promote national and regional space activities and function as hemi- spheric forums to discuss and exchange ideas on space matters. On the other side there are institutional space cooperation mechanisms such as the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (CRECTEALC),2 the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL),3 1 Several states are members of more than one regional institutional space cooperation mechanism, such as Germany (ESA and INTERSPUTNIK) and Egypt (APSCO—as associated member state— and the African Space Agency (AfSA)). Many European states are members of ESA and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). 2 Centro Regional de Enseñanza de Ciencia y Tecnología del Espacio para América Latina y el Caribe (CRECTEALC). 3 Comisión Interamericana de Telecomunicaciones (CITEL). vii viii Introduction and the Andean Telecommunications Authorities Committee (CAATEL)4 that have largely contributed to the development of telecommunications and space related activities in the region. However, there is not yet a regional institutional body or multilateral cooperation mechanism in Latin America that coordinates space initiatives in all the region, functions as a permanent and stable discussion forum on space issues or operates regional space programs. The lack of an institutional space cooperation mechanism in the region and the existence of successful institutional mechanisms in other parts of the world have prompted some Latin American countries and academics to propose the creation of a regional space agency in the Americas. Actually, this idea has been suggested since the 1980’s on multiple occasions, but for multiple reasons the agency has never materialized. To overcome this impasse, Latin American countries should consider if a multilateral space agency is necessary, desirable, and possible in the region, and answer some essential questions, such as the following: • Does Latin America need a regional space agency? More specifically, is the Latin American Space Agency (LASA) the most appropriate mechanism to promote regional space cooperation and develop the space sector for the benefit of Latin American countries? • Who wants to create LASA and is willing to launch or collaborate in this endeavour? • Who is willing to participate in LASA’s overall budget and what formula should be adopted to calculate the contributions of its members? • Which is the most appropriate forum to discuss and prepare the creation of LASA? • What would LASA’s mission and main objectives be? What should be its legal and administrative framework? • Can ESA serve as the best model for LASA? If so, what kind of European space activities, policies and programmes should be replicated by LASA? • Are other institutional cooperation mechanisms more suitable than ESA as models for LASA? • Who should be a member of LASA and which criteria should be used to join LASA membership? • Should one or more regional space cooperation mechanisms (non-institutional mechanisms, for example) be created or reinforced before creating LASA? • Are Latin American countries capable of setting up LASA in the short or medium term? • What does it take to establish LASA in terms of political, legal, financial, scientific and technical considerations? Clearly, this is not a comprehensive list of possible questions to be answered, and different approaches to the subject may generate further and more complex questions. Moreover, the present study will not deal with all these questions. Instead, it will focus on the essential legal and political issues concerning the creation of LASA. 4 Comité Andino de Autoridades de Telecomunicaciones (CAATEL). Introduction ix Therefore, the study is divided into four chapters: Chap. 1 examines the imple- mentation of the principle of international space cooperation by Latin American countries; Chap. 2 presents a historical analysis