Regulatory challenges and policy gaps for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing technologies

Edited by: NIKITA PESTROV1 AND AUDREY BERTIN2

In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) technologies provide incredible opportunities to improve space exploration by giving space assets longer lives, enabling the creation of space objects that are too large to launch from Earth, and allowing space technology to be built using materials sourced from other celestial bodies. However, ISAM technologies also pose legal and regulatory challenges. There are some ongoing challenges with satellite regulations that also apply to ISAM technologies, like spectrum allocation and enforcement, and some difficulties that are unique to ISAM, like mission authorization and continuing supervision. This paper explores how ISAM technologies fit within current space policy framework and the current efforts to regulate ISAM. Additionally, it identifies policy gaps and future work to be done to ensure the safe and sustainable use of ISAM technology.

Highlights

1. In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) technologies are poised to disrupt the current in-space economy and potentially revolutionize how humans use space.

2. However, ISAM technologies pose unique governance challenges and current space policy will not be enough to sufficiently regulate them.

3. In this article, we explore how ISAM technologies fit into the existing satellite policy landscape, addressing both (1) the unique regulatory challenges they present—such as questions of supervision responsibility, ownership, and intellectual property rights of space objects—and (2) broader issues affecting satellites overall, which also influence these new technologies.

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