우주법의 체계와 국내 우주법상 주요 쟁점(part 1) - 발사 및 등록에 관한 비교법적 검토 -

Abstract

As the Korea Aerospace Administration is being established to oversee the development of aerospace technology and the promotion of related industries, the author intends to sequentially review major issues in space law. This article, as part of such a project, examines the basic framework of international space law, which serves as a premise for discussions on space law. It then reviews the regulatory system for the launch and registration of space objects under the Space Development Promotion Act by comparing it with international space law and relevant legislation of the U.S. and Japan, and suggests improvements. First, with regard to the framework of international space law, after an overview of the binding space law led by the Outer Space Treaty and various forms of soft space law, the provisions concerning the launch and registration of space objects will be examined more specifically. Following this, it will review how the regulations on the launch of space launch vehicles and registration of space objects in the United States and Japan reflect the demands of international space law while flexibly adapting to their respective national circumstances. Based on this, by examining the provisions of our Space Development Promotion Act, it will argue that our Space Development Promotion Act needs improvement in areas such as exercising supervisory authority over launch operators after launch authorization, criteria for launch authorization and review of payloads, and measures to mitigate space debris. It will also draw attention to the discrepancy between the entities obligated to obtain launch authorization and register space objects, the lack of effectiveness of the pre-registration system, and the inefficiency of the space object registration procedure under the same Act. In order to comply with the requirements of international space law and to ensure safe and sustainable space development, it is necessary to amend the Space Development Promotion Act. In this process, various factors such as adherence to international space law, national security and diplomatic interests, development of the domestic space industry, and protection of our citizens should be balanced and considered.