Authorisation and Supervision under Space Law and the Regulation of Suborbital Flights

As is well known, the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies codifies a series of fundamental principles that provide the underlying framework for the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes which are complemented by and elaborated in the four subsequent UN treaties on outer space.2 Furthermore, the governance of outer space is also enhanced by an increasing number of other instruments agreed within a multilateral framework at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (uncopuos)3 which provide additional substance to the ways in which space activities are to be conducted.