Parsing the Role of Civil Space: A New Direction for International Space Policy

摘要

International space policy has reached a transitional moment when the classic nation-building narrative has broken down. The opportunity now exists to reframe space exploration efforts along broader ideological lines. Applying the vision of Dr. Lennard Fisk, this paper presents a three-pronged approach to restructuring the international space community around immediate practical hazards, mid-range political and economic concerns, and long-term reforms to the notion of space civilization. The first stage calls for action toward providing Security against current global threats by utilizing existing international institutions. These actions will create a stable base for the second stage, which would undertake substantive reform of the Outer Space Treaty to outline the standards and practices of space exploration in the next century, thereby incentivizing public-private partnerships while protecting the Parity of access to space for all nations. Finally, the third stage presents a possible structure for a transnational space authority that would embody the Civility of space exploration by ensuring that the peaceful uses of outer space are undertaken as an effort of all humankind.