The New Frontiers of Space (eBook)

Acknowledgements 5
Contents 6
Acronyms 9
List of Figures 11
List of Tables 13
List of Case Studies 14
1 Introduction 16
2 A Snapshot of Space: 2018 22
2.1 The State and Size of the World’s Space Sector: A Snapshot 22
2.2 A Brief History of the Space Race 27
2.3 The Global Space Industry in Evolution: A Composite Sector 31
2.4 National Space Agencies: Old Concept, New Aims 36
2.5 The Twenty-First Century: A Cooperative Space 42
References 52
3 The Business of Space 57
3.1 The Business of Space: General Considerations 57
3.2 The Star of the Sector: The Satellite Industry 61
3.3 Upstream Space: The Launching Industry 69
3.4 New Actors for a Changing Sector: The Rise of the Private Spaceflight Operators 75
References 87
4 Europe in Space and the Space in Europe: A Complex Relationship 89
4.1 A Strategy for Europe: The EU’s Space Policy 89
4.2 The Space Sector in Europe 95
4.3 The European Space Agency (ESA) 100
4.4 The UK: A Space Power Between the EU and ESA 107
4.5 Russia: From Sputnik to Roscosmos 111
References 123
5 Beyond Europe: Space Powers Around the World 127
5.1 The USA 127
5.2 The Rising (Red) Star in the Space Sector: China 138
5.3 Japan and India 144
5.3.1 Japan 144
5.3.2 India 146
5.4 The Rest of the World 148
5.4.1 Canada 148
5.4.2 Brazil 149
5.4.3 New Zealand 151
References 161
6 Space Diplomacy: Traditional and Non-Traditional Security Issues 167
6.1 Space Security or Security in Space? An Introduction 167
6.2 International Relations and Space Governance 170
6.3 The Weaponisation of Space in the Twenty-First Century 174
6.4 Non-Traditional Security Issues (NTSI) in Space: A Growing Problem 178
6.5 NTSI: Debris in LEO and Space Readiness Plans 184
References 196
7 The Legal Dimensions of Space 201
7.1 The Fundamental Treaties of International Space Law 201
7.2 The “Outer Space Treaty” (OST) of 1967 207
7.3 Regulating Space Activities 211
7.4 International Trade and Space 215
7.5 The States and Their Citizens: National Space Laws 219
7.5.1 USA34 220
7.5.2 Luxembourg36 221
7.5.3 Japan40 223
7.5.4 The UK46 224
7.5.5 China50 225
References 236
8 A Changing Space: Trends of the Twenty-First Century 241
8.1 The Present and Future Telescope 241
8.2 Mining in Space 245
8.3 The Future of Space Tourism 249
8.4 The Next Satellite Generation: CubeSat 254
References 270
9 Beyond Space Fiction 274
9.1 Exploring Our Neighbourhood 274
9.1.1 The Moon 278
9.1.2 Mars 281
9.1.3 Venus 283
9.2 Farther Away: The Rest of the Heliosphere 284
9.2.1 Gas Giants and Their Moons 284
9.2.2 Uranus and Neptune 286
9.2.3 Comets, Asteroids, Dwarf Planets and Going Towards the Sun 287
9.3 Colonies 288
9.4 The Search for Alien Life: Hunting Exoplanets 293
References 306
10 Conclusions 311
Timeline of Space Exploration 315
Index 321