Studies on National Space Legislation for the Purpose of Drafting China’s Space Law From the Faculty of Business and Economics Leuphana University Lueneburg in order to obtain the degree Dr. iur. approved dissertation by Huan Yu born on 28. 10. 1987 in Harbin/ P.R. China Contents Preface ....................................................................................................... VII Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 A. Research Problem and Purpose ....................................................... 2 B. Research Methodology .................................................................... 3 I. Doctrinal Methodology ................................................................ 3 II. Comparative Method................................................................... 5 C. Research Structure ........................................................................... 6 Chapter I. The Legal Basis and Necessity of National Space Legislation ....................................................................................................................... 9 A. International Space Law and the National Space Legislation ....... 10 I. International Space Treaties and National Space Law ............... 10 II. International Space Soft Law and National Space Law ............ 10 B. The Outer Space Treaty (OST) and National Space Legislation ..... 13 I. Art. VI: International Responsibility - the Motivation of States to Create National Space Legislation................................................. 13 II. The Obligations Set up in the OST Which Should be Implemented in National Space Legislation ........................................................ 17 1. Art. II: Non-Appropriation of Outer Space Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies ........................................... 17 2. Art. VII: International Liability of the Launching State ..... 18 3. Art. VIII: Registration of Space Objects ............................. 19 4. Art. IX: The Protection of the Environment of Outer Space and the Earth ........................................................................... 20 C. The Other Four Main Outer Space Treaties and National Space Legislation ............................................................................................ 21 I. The Rescue Agreement and National Space Legislation ............ 22 II. The Liability Convention and National Space Legislation ....... 22 1. The Distinction Between Responsibility and Liability in Space Law ............................................................................... 23 2. An Understanding of the Term “Launching State” ............. 26 3. The Situation of Joint Launch in the Context of the LIAB 28 4. No Application to Nationals and Foreign Participants in the Launching States ..................................................................... 29 III. The Registration Convention and National Space Legislation 30 IV. The Moon Agreement and National Space Legislation ........... 32 D. International Telecommunication Law and National Space Legislation .............................................................................................................. 34 E. The Necessity of National Space Legislation .................................. 37 F. Chapter Conclusion .......................................................................... 39 Chapter II. The Basic Content of National Space Legislation: A Conclusion Based on State Practice ......................................................... 41 A. National Space Legislation: A Brief Introduction to the Existing National Practice ................................................................................... 41 B. The ILA Model Law and the NatLeg Resolution ............................ 44 I. An Overview of the ILA Model Law ......................................... 44 II. A General Introduction of the Resolution on Recommendations I on National Legislation Relevant to the Peaceful Exploration and Use of Outer Space (NatLeg Resolution) ...................................... 47 C. Basic Content Analysis of National Space Legislation .................... 49 I. Scope of Application and Jurisdiction ........................................ 49 II. Authorization and Conditions for Authorization ....................... 52 1. Qualified Financial Capacity of the Applicant ................... 54 2. Reliable Technical Knowledge of the Applicant ................ 55 3. Protection of the Environment and the Mitigation of Space Debris ...................................................................................... 56 4. Meeting the Demands of National Security/ Foreign Policy Interests ................................................................................... 58 5. Compliance with International Obligations ........................ 60 III. Registration .............................................................................. 62 IV. Continuing Supervision and Enforcement ............................... 65 V. Recourse and Insurance ............................................................. 67 VI. In-orbit Transfer of a Space Object ......................................... 70 D. Chapter Conclusion.......................................................................... 72 Chapter III. New Content in the Recent National Space Legislation: Focusing on Three Aspects ........................................................................ 75 A. National Legislation on Asteroid Resource Mining: Focusing on the New Enacted Space Act of the U.S. and Luxembourg ......................... 77 I. The Background to the Adoption of the “Space Resource Act” by the U.S. and Luxembourg .............................................................. 77 1. Private Entities are Achieving the Capacity to Mine Asteroids ................................................................................................ 78 2. The Shortcoming of Regulations to Guarantee the Property Rights Relating to Extracting from Asteroids and the Adoption of the U.S. 2015 Space Act as a Solution ............................... 80 II. The Legal Implications of National Regulations on Asteroid Resources ....................................................................................... 82 1. Violation of the Outer Space Treaty? .................................. 82 2. Interpretation of the Outer Space Treaty? ........................... 84 3. The International Regime on Outer Space Resources ........ 85 B. National Legislation on Sub-orbital Flights: Taking the 2018 UK Space Industry Act as an Example........................................................ 88 I. An Overview of the 2018 UK Space Industry Act ..................... 88 II. Fundamental Reasons for 2018 UK Space Industry Act Emphasizing Sub-orbital Flight ..................................................... 89 III. Specific Legal Concerns of Sub-orbital Flight/Tourism .......... 91 1. The Legal Definition of Sub-orbital Flight ......................... 91 2. The Delimitation of Outer Space and the Application of Laws ................................................................................................ 92 3. Sub-orbital Tourism ............................................................ 93 C. National Legislation on Spaceports: Taking into Particular Account the 2018 UK Space Industry Act .......................................................... 96 I. Motivation for the New UK Space Law Concerning the “Spaceport” ....................................................................................................... 97 II. The Spaceport as A Legal Term: A Comparison of Different II National Regulations ..................................................................... 98 III. The Authorization of Private Operating Spaceport ................. 99 IV. Spaceports-the Future’s Commercial Space Battlefield ........ 100 D. Chapter Conclusion........................................................................ 101 Chapter IV. The Development of Space Policy and Activities, as well as the Status Quo of Space Law in China .................................................. 103 A. The Main Space Policies of China ................................................. 103 I. Fundamental Space Policies of China: A Summary of the “White Papers” ......................................................................................... 104 1. The Purposes of Developing Space Activities .................. 104 2. The Principles for Developing Space Activities ............... 106 3. The Measures for Developing Space Activities ................ 108 II. The Military-Civil Integration Policy: The Catalyst of Space Privatization in China ................................................................... 110 1. A Short History of the Military-Civil Integration in China ............................................................................................... 110 2. The Military-Civil Integration Policy and China’s Space Privatization Development .................................................... 112 B. The Space Activities of China: Focusing on Traditional State-Oriented Programs and Emerging Private Activities .......................................... 113 I. State-Oriented Space Activities ................................................. 113 1. A Short Review from the Historical Perspective ............... 113 2. Prominent State-Oriented Space Programs ......................