Space Governance and Policy

How should outer space be governed for the 21st century?
It is almost 70 years since humanity first ventured into outer space. The achievements of the space age have transformed life on earth. Scientific exploration has helped us understand more about our own planet and the universe of which it is part. Space-based communications technology allows almost instantaneous connections around the globe, between personal devices, TVs, drones and the internet-of-things. Satellite-based Earth observation, including weather forecasting, has revolutionised agriculture, resource exploration and maritime security. It has helped us trace the effects of climate change and anticipate and respond to natural disasters. Position, navigation and timing satellites provide incredible precision almost everywhere—on mobile devices, missiles, and packages delivered to our door. And the timing signal is foundational to the function of many networks, including the internet itself.
Space has also been the site of strategic competition between the major powers, as they compete for prestige and military dominance. Space promises great resource wealth for those who can access it.
As we enter ‘space age 2.0’ humanity again faces important questions about how outer space will be governed and what policies are needed to ensure equitable, reliable and safe access to this domain on which we all depend.
These questions require a multi-disciplinary response. In collaboration with colleagues in the STEM disciplines, researchers in the School of Humanities and Social Science draw on expertise in law, history, international relations, politics, strategy and ethics to inform approaches to space governance and policy for the twenty-first century and beyond.
Current Research Projects
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The Workshops on the Regulation of Space Activities and Technologies (WRegSAT) represent a groundbreaking initiative at the forefront of space governance research. This innovative project, spearheaded by UNSW Canberra, aims to address the complex challenges and opportunities presented by Australia's rapidly evolving space industry.
The WRegSAT Series
The WRegSAT series consists of an annual series of three workshops that bring together experts to tackle pressing regulatory issues in the space sector. Each series focuses on a specific regulatory challenge, culminating in the production of a Regulatory Options Paper (ROP). This comprehensive document serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, offering insights and recommendations to shape Australia's evolving framework for regulation of space activities.
Addressing Australia's Space Ambitions
Australia's space industry is poised for significant growth, with projections indicating a potential market size of AUD$12 billion by 2030 and the creation of 20,000 new jobs. To support this expansion, the WRegSAT project recognises the need for a robust and adaptable regulatory framework that can keep pace with technological advancements and emerging space capabilities.
Key Objectives
The WRegSAT series aims to support several critical objectives that should be of particular interest to legal professionals:
- Developing options for future-oriented regulations that anticipate and adapt to challenges in the space sector.
- Ensuring sustainability in space activities.
- Supporting innovation and competitiveness in Australian space enterprises.
- Aligning space regulations with national security priorities and international agreements.
- Proposing regulatory options that meet or exceed global standards.
- Proposing exemplary regulatory models that can influence international frameworks.
- Gathering and incorporating unique Australian perspectives, including insights from First Nations Peoples.
Interdisciplinary Approach
The WRegSAT project highlights the interdisciplinary nature of space governance, bringing together experts from various fields including law, humanities, engineering and technology. This approach recognises that effective space regulation requires a holistic understanding of the complex interplay between legal, ethical, and technical considerations.
Cutting-Edge Research
By participating in the WRegSAT project, UNSW Canberra demonstrates its commitment to cutting-edge research in space governance. The project addresses critical questions about how best to regulate the space industry, balancing the need for a world-leading approach to governance with the imperative to foster growth in Australia's domestic space sector.
Stakeholder Engagement
The WRegSAT series emphasises the importance of engaging a broad range of stakeholders in the regulatory process. This inclusive approach ensures that the resulting framework considers diverse perspectives and interests within the space industry.
Global Context
With the global space industry projected to reach USD$1.8 trillion by 2035, the WRegSAT project positions Australia to play a significant role in shaping the future of space activities. By addressing emerging capabilities such as active debris management, on-orbit servicing, and space resource exploitation, the project ensures that Australia's regulatory framework remains relevant and competitive on the global stage.
The WRegSAT project exemplifies UNSW Canberra's commitment to excellence in research and education, addressing real-world challenges in the rapidly evolving space sector. Through this initiative, the university is not only contributing to Australia's space ambitions but also fostering the next generation of space industry leaders and innovators.
Partners
Other universities contributing to the WRegSAT are Flinders University, RMIT, University of Newcastle and the University of Adelaide.
WRegSAT 2025 is sponsored by leading law firm Gilbert + Tobin.
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Outer space is a global commons with stategic and security significance for an increasing number of states. State activity in space is governed by the five UN space treaties. Other areas of international law, such as the Laws of Armed Conflict, also apply to space. The legal framework, however, lacks clarity and detail, and the development of international space law has stalled. No new space treaties have been concluded since 1979. The prospect of consensus on any new laws is vanishingly small.
Existing space law is ill-equipped to deal with complex issues such as space debris, space traffic management, resource extraction and on-orbit servicing. The destabilising effect of the absence of a rigorous normative framework is only likely to intensify as we enter a period that has been characterised as a ‘multipolar, multistakeholder space race’ (Global Strategic Trends, 2024). It is a space race with geopolitical, military, commercial and resource dimensions.
In response, the West has advocated for the development of non-legally binding norms of responsible behaviour. Nations and civil society have responded by proposing a plethora of norms. But the sheer variety of such proposed norms, many in the same area, undermines their status as norms.
Together with our partners in the Security & Defence PLuS Alliance, King’s College, London and Arizona State University, UNSW Canberra has started a project to establish an objective, single point of reference for emerging space norms, and a deep analysis and commentary on each norm. When complete, the space norms database will provide users with an intuitive and easily-navigable way to access expert-compiled, up-to-date information on the status of individual space norms. The database will include a visual representation of the status of emergence of each norm. It is designed to assist all those whose task would be made easier through access to a single point of reference.
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Australia’s space expertise was not developed overnight: instead, it has a long history dating back to the 1950s. Australia managed the world’s largest rocket range at Woomera and hosted more American tracking stations than any other country. It has also had a rocky experience with developing space policy, which continues to affect Australia’s space experience today.
Space history is fundamental to Australia’s space present and future. Space history allows us to unpick some of the myths and misunderstandings about space, to learn from best practices and past mistakes, and to understand the institutional, cultural, political and technological underpinnings of Australia’s space efforts. Most importantly, it allows policymakers, engineers, scientists, and the public to understand why Australia does and does not engage with space, and how it might do so into the future.
Led by space historian Dr Tristan Moss, UNSW Canberra has explored how and why Australia has engaged in space and what this means for the future.
Listen to Tristan talk about why space history matters
See what Australians think about space in the first-ever survey on Australian attitudes towards space: https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2023/12/the-first-ever-survey-on-australian-attitudes-towards-space-is-o
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Space is vitally important to Australia’s national security. Space enables crucial functions of the Australian Defence Force, through communications, intelligence, space situational awareness and many other capabilities. More broadly, space technology is essential for Australia’s national resilience in the face of other challenges, such as climate change and natural disasters.
UNSW Canberra Space is exploring Australia’s space use of space in support of its national security, examining Australia’s space strategy, space and defence policy and the importance of international relationships in space.
Outcomes:
- A series of policy papers exploring Australia’s national security in and through space, developed in collaboration with the Australian Centre for Space Governance: https://www.spacegovcentre.org/our-research
- A detailed study of Australia’s engagement with the United States in space: https://www.ussc.edu.au/the-evolution-of-the-australia-us-defence-space-relationship
- A history of the Australian Defence Force and space (forthcoming).
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UNSW Canberra researchers are also working on other space governance and policy issues, including:
- The compatibility of the US-led Artemis Accords with existing international space law.
- How superpower and rising power competition has shaped international space law and approaches to the weaponisation of outer space.
- Understanding the challenges of regulating dual-use objects in space.
Partners
The Australian Centre for Space Governance (ACSG) brings together academics across six different universities in Australia with expertise in a range of fields, to work collaboratively on the most pressing governance challenges facing the space sector. UNSW Canberra is an active participant in the ACSG’s work.
Security & Defence PLuS is the flagship program of the PLuS Alliance, a global partnership which combines the strengths of three leading research universities on three continents – Arizona State University, King’s College London, and the University of New South Wales – to solve global challenges. Security & Defence PLuS deepens this partnership, advancing research, education, and policy to support statecraft in the spirit of the 2021 AUKUS trilateral agreement between the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Gilbert + Tobin generously sponsor WRegSAT 2025.