The Legal Framework of Suborbital Flights : Perspectives from Air Law and Space Law / edited by Irmgard Marboe , Stephan Hobe.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hobe, Stephan, editor.

Marboe, Irmgard, editor.

Series:

International Law E-books Online, Collection 2026.

Studies in Space Law ; 29.

International Law E-books Online, Collection 2026

Studies in Space Law ; 29

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (436 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Perspectives from Air Law and Space Law

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill | Nijhoff, 2026.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Flights that reach very high altitudes but do not enter Earth orbit are commonly known as ‘suborbital flights‘. It is not clear whether – from the legal perspective – they are space or aviation activities. In practice, they include scientific and research missions, and more recently also commercial applications, such as transportation services and flights with crews and passengers, often referred to as ‘space tourism’. These activities raise numerous legal questions, including registration, responsibility, liability and insurance as well as environmental protection. This book contains perspectives on the applicable legal framework from experienced air and space law experts.

Contents:

Intro

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Legal Documents

Notes on Contributors

Introduction: Background and Terminology

Part 1 General Overview of Suborbital Flights

Chapter 1 Space or High Altitude: What's in a Name?

1 Introduction

2 Spatialist and Functionalist Approaches

3 Exploring High Altitude Frontiers

4 Consequences of the Absence of Definition

5 Overview of Regulatory Frameworks for High Altitude Activities

5.1 International Organisations

5.2 National Regulatory Frameworks

5.2.1 United Arab Emirates

5.2.2 United Kingdom

5.2.3 Comparative Analysis of the Two Identified Regulatory Frameworks

6 Conclusion

Chapter 2 High Altitude Activities for Science and Research with Sounding Rockets and Stratospheric Balloons

2 Radio Propagation

3 Sounding Rockets

3.1 Some Examples of Sounding Rockets

3.2 Rocket Experiments

4 Stratospheric Balloon Measurements

5 Education and Outreach

Chapter 3 Space Tourism

1 Ad Astra: First Target - The Moon!

2 Going to the Moon Is Indeed Hard and Expensive

3 Reusability Is One Side of the Cost Savings Coin

4 Mass Production Represents the Other Side

5 Kick-Starting Competition Is Easy

6 Starting Space Tourism by Announcing the X Prize

7 25 Years after the Announcement of the X Prize

8 In September 2021, Spacex Launched Inspiration4

9 Want to Go to Space Yourself?

10 Conclusion

Chapter 4 The FAST20XX EU Project and the Legal Aspects of Suborbital Flights

2 The FAST20XX Project

3 Defining Suborbital Flight

4 Regulating Suborbital Flight as Spaceflight

5 Regulating Suborbital Flight as Airflight

6 The Future European Regulation of Suborbital Flight.

7 Conclusion: Regulating Suborbital Flight under a Sui Generis Regime?

Chapter 5 Suborbital Flights and Sustainability: The International Environmental Regime Applicable to Activities Sub-orbit

2 Environmental Norms of General Applicability

2.1 'No Harm' Rule

2.2 Preventive Principle

2.3 Duty to Conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment

2.4 Precautionary Principle

2.5 Supply Chain Compliance

3 Earth

4 Airspace

5 Outer Space

6 Sea

7 Outlook

Part 2 Authorisation and Supervision

Chapter 6 Authorisation and Supervision under Air Law: International, European, and National Legal Framework

2 Authorisation and Supervision in Public International Air Law

2.1 Authorisation and Supervision in the Chicago Convention

2.2 ICAO's Law-Making Mechanism

2.3 Annex 1, Personnel Licensing

2.4 Annex 6, Operation of Aircraft

2.5 Annex 8, Airworthiness of Aircraft

3 Authorisation and Supervision in EU Air Law

3.1 Early Attempts: Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA)

3.2 EASA

4 Authorisation and Supervision under National Air Law

5 Conclusion

Chapter 7 Authorisation and Supervision under Air Law: A Model for Suborbital Flights?

2 The Principle of Sovereignty

3 Sovereignty and Aircraft

4 Classification of the Vehicles Involved

5 The View of ICAO

6 The United States View

7 The European Union View

8 Conclusion

8.1 Suborbital Vehicles

8.2 Suborbital Flights

Chapter 8 Authorisation and Supervision under Space Law and the Regulation of Suborbital Flights: International Perspectives and National Implementation in Australia, New Zealand and the United States

2 The Obligation of Authorisation and Supervision under International Space Law

2.1 Authorisation: General Requirements.

2.2 Continuing Supervision: General Requirements

3 Authorisation and Supervision of Suborbital Flights from the Perspective of International Space Law

4 National Approaches

4.1 Australia

4.2 New Zealand

4.3 United States

5 Concluding Observations

Chapter 9 Perspectives on Authorisation and Supervision of Suborbital Flights in Europe

2 National Space Laws in Europe

2.1 Regulatory Heterogeneity

2.2 The Authorisation Scheme under French Law

2.3 The Role of CNES

2.4 Application of the French Space Operations Act to Suborbital Flights

3 The Role of the European Space Agency (ESA)

3.1 ESA's 'Authorisation' Practice

3.2 ESA's Registration Practice

3.3 The IXV Suborbital Vehicle

4 The Role of the European Union (EU)

4.1 The Planned EU Space Law

4.2 EASA's Project on Higher Airspace Operations (HAO)

Part 3 Responsibility

Chapter 10 Suborbital Flights: Responsibility under Air Law, the Role of States and Operators

2 Definitions and Background Assessment of Suborbital Flights: How High Is the Sky?

3 Aspects of Responsibility under Air Law in Recent EU Initiatives

3.1 The Framework of Responsibility in Higher Airspace Operations, an EU Perspective

3.2 Authorisation

3.3 Supervision

4 Concluding Remarks

Chapter 11 Who Is Legally Responsible? The Responsibility Regime in International Space Law and Its Relevance for Non-orbital Flights: Perspectives from the East Asian Spacefaring Nations

1 Introduction: The Scope of the Study of This Chapter

2 Unique Responsibility Regimes in International Space Law

2.1 The Nature of Responsibility for 'National Activities in Outer Space'

2.2 The Meaning and Scope of 'National Activities in Outer Space'.

3 The Possible Scope of Application of International Space Law to Various Non-orbital Flight Activities

3.1 Scientific Investigation by Sounding Rocket, Balloons or Other Non-orbital Transportation Vehicles

3.2 Space Tourism and Point-to-Point Transportation

3.3 Non-orbital Military Activities

4 Recent Developments of Non-orbital Flight Activities in Spacefaring States in East Asia

4.1 Japan

4.2 The People's Republic of China

4.3 The Republic of Korea

Chapter 12 Frequency Spectrum for Suborbital Flights: Between Air and Space?

1 Suborbital Vehicles Using the Spectrum

1.1 International Procedure of Frequency Allocation

1.2 Studying Allocation for Suborbital Vehicles: Report ITU-R M.2477.0

1.3 WRC-19 Resolution 772: Consideration of Regulatory Provisions to Facilitate the Introduction of Sub-orbital Vehicles

2 WRC-23

3 Conclusion

Part 4 Registration

Chapter 13 Registration of Aircraft

2 Registration in Public International Air Law

2.1 Registration in/under the Chicago Convention

2.2 Annex 7

2.3 Consequences

3 Registration under EU Law

4 Registration under National Law

4.1 United States

4.2 Germany

4.3 Austria

Chapter 14 Registration of Suborbital Vehicles under Space Law

2 Registration of Space Objects under the UN Treaties and Resolutions

2.1 The Early UN Resolutions

2.2 The Outer Space Treaty

2.3 The Registration Convention

2.4 UN Resolution 62/101 on Registration Practice and the 'Registration Project'

2.5 UN Resolution 68/74 on National Space Legislation

2.6 The COPUOS Long-Term Sustainability Guidelines

2.7 Preliminary Conclusion

3 How Registration Works in Practice

3.1 What to Register

3.2 Which Information to Submit

3.3 When to Register?.

3.4 Where to Register and in What Format?

3.5 Which Mechanism to Use?

3.6 Processing of Submissions

3.7 Preliminary Conclusion

4 Registration of Suborbital Flights

4.1 Recalling the FAST20XX Project

4.2 UNCOPUOS Questionnaires

4.3 Notifications to UNOOSA

4.4 National Registration

Part 5 Liability

Chapter 15 Liability of Air Carriers and Aircraft Operators and the Relevant Insurance Considerations

1 National Law versus International Law

2 The International Regimes

3 Liability under the Montreal Convention

3.1 Liability for Passenger Death or Injury

3.2 The Term 'Accident'

3.3 Can Inaction Constitute an Accident?

3.4 Death or Bodily Injury

3.5 Operation of Embarking or Disembarking

3.6 The Amount of Liability and the Scope

3.7 Liability for Damage to Baggage and Cargo

3.8 Delay

4 Third Party Legal Liability

4.1 Legal Instruments

4.2 Material Scope

4.3 Limited or Unlimited Liability?

5 Aircraft Liability Insurance

5.1 Compulsory Insurance Coverage

5.2 Insurance Requirements under EU Law and Article 50 of the Montreal Convention

5.3 Third-Party Liability Insurance

5.4 Passenger Legal Liability Insurance

6.1 Applicable Law

6.2 Insurance

Chapter 16 Liability and Insurance under Space Law and their Applicability to Non-orbital Space Flights

1 Introduction: The Concept of 'Liability' (including 'Insurance')

2 Liability in Space Law: The General Contours and the Applicable International Regimes

2.1 Article VII of the Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention

2.2 Article VII of the Outer Space Treaty and General Public International Law

3 Applying Space Law Liability to Non-orbital Space Flights: the International Regimes.

3.1 Article VII of the Outer Space Treaty, the Liability Convention and Non-orbital Space Flights.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

90-04-74769-9

9789004747692

OCLC:

1574121728

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004747692 DOI