Standardization in the Space Sector and Its Role in the Long-Term Sustainability of Space Activities: Regulation by Stealth or a Function Creep?

Abstract

Technical standards are not legal instruments, but alongside other non-legally binding instruments they play a significant role in space governance at large. They offer a detailed account on what is considered the ‘state of the art’ in technical terms, invertedly having legal implications on what may be regarded as diligent or negligent behaviour. As a consequence, technical standards can become standards for lawfulness. Standardization serves interoperability, interaction between interfacing products and services and the compatibility of technologies and systems. It equally supports the creation of new markets and can help to lessen the barrier to enter the space market. However, technical standards lack a clear legal meaning. In the rapidly evolving domain of modern spaceflight, where the ‘what and how’ still needs to be defined, they can become ‘gamechangers’ that allow ‘first-movers’ – industry and governments alike – to gain competitive or strategic advantages by setting rules of the game. If standardization is reduced to a mere technical exercise, with its results (i.e., standards) viewed as merely technical products addressing technical problems, one risks overlooking, or underestimating, the role that standards play in space governance and regulation. This article sheds light on the normative character of technical standards and the role they play in today’s space governance.