Military Influence on International Regime-Making for Space Traffic Management: Explaining the Evolution of SSA Data Transparency at the US Department of Defense

摘要

The rise of commercial space activities combined with an acute awareness of the orbital debris issue increases the need for international Space Traffic Management (STM) rules. However, the development of an international STM regime poses the problem of limiting the freedom of activities in outer space. Knowing the importance of military activities in space and the influence of the militaries of the world's most advanced space powers on space policymaking, it is necessary to analyse STM from the point of view of these militaries, largely overlooked in the academic space policy world. This paper focusses on the point of view of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) with regards to STM regime making, through a detailed analysis of the evolution of the US DoD on Space Situational Awareness (SSA) data transparency from the early 2000s up to now. In short, (1) how to explain the evolution of the US DoD towards more transparency in SSA data and information sharing? And (2) how does this recent evolution influences the current view of the US DoD on STM regime making? To answer these two questions, the author has analysed various US government documents and, most importantly, has carried out a large-scale interview campaign in Washington, DC in August and September 2019, during which he could meet around 40 governmental experts personally involved, internally and externally, in the DoD's recent evolution on SSA data transparency. After providing the legal history of the DoD's SSA Sharing Program, the author presents four different frameworks to explain its evolution, before concluding on the influence it had current view on STM at the DoD.