The actors in outer space have changed dramatically, involving not only new states but also private entities including start-ups, universities, and other new market entrants. The topics that require regulation have also changed, moving from broad principles to govern the initial stages of space exploration to much more complex questions with greater interests at stake. These topics include new kinds of activities, made possible by fast technological progress and often involving great potential for commercial gain, and also issues of growing concern for humankind as a whole with regard to the continued exploration and use of outer space. This essay looks at how new state participants view established and emerging international legal principles regulating space activities and highlights potential points of agreement or disagreement in that respect.

This essay compares the national space legislation of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK), outlining the reasons behind the legislation and then explaining what it authorizes, the jurisdiction it asserts, and the conditions it imposes on nongovernmental space activities. The essay also compares the compensation available to victims in case of damages and governmental indemnification payments to protect victims and the space launch industry in Japan and the ROK. Differences in industry policies and dates of enactment help to account for variations among these states. However, the comparative analysis suggests that the domestic legal conditions across Asia's three spacefaring nations are similar to those found worldwide.

Both national and international laws apply to collisions by space vehicles and objects in outer space and with the surface of the Earth. International treaties govern collisions involving commercial operators from different states, while domestic laws govern claims by nationals against national commercial operators. Commercial operators may find themselves as defendants or become plaintiffs when others cause them damage. This essay discusses liability in the new space era from the point of view of these operators, including both outer space and surface liabilities. It examines liability exposure, describes different regimes governing liability, and identifies prospective legal changes.

The United States’ enactment of the Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act of 2015 marked a significant turn in the evolutionary course of space lawmaking, although not for the reasons commonly cited. The Act is noteworthy not for its substance, but as a symptom of emerging structural change in how space law is made, and by whom. Using space resources as a case study, this essay charts this evolutionary shift in space lawmaking and assesses its implications for the international regime on which a growing and increasingly diverse range of space operators depend.

As the number and intensity of space activities increase, so will the need for rules on Space Traffic Management (STM). Emerging technologies such as mega-constellations, which are satellite constellations consisting of hundreds or even thousands of satellites, may stretch the limits of the current informal coordination system. The goal of this essay is to discuss the critical elements of a system of STM that would, through standardization, establish trust in the resulting system. The standardization elements will be divided into three categories: data standards, processing standards, and legal standards. I argue that a system of STM requires standardized practices that are based on a strong technical foundation in order to enhance trust among space actors. After discussing the types of standards that are needed for STM, I turn to possible paths for achieving a globally effective STM system.

Once the domain of a few spacefaring nations, outer space has exploded with new actors, state and private, in recent years. New actors and activities bring new potential threats and concerns for new and existing actors alike. In this complex environment, where mistrust and misunderstanding often prevail, international law can play an important role in bridging gaps and creating predictability, clarity, and consistency. Although new treaty law is unlikely, the ordinary incremental international law processes of state practice, opinio juris, and international jurisprudence will help to resolve critical questions about the content and application of international law in outer space over time.