Search

The slow pace of the space industry and a series of mechanical defects in spacecraft have led to market conditions that favor the buyer, and lower prices for satellites and launch services. The Bush Administration faces some key policy reconsiderations in the coming year, particularly in the area of allocations for reusable space vehicles.

Several amendments were made in the US legislature regarding air transportation, satellite communications and satellite remote sensing systems to increase the regulatory authority of the Department of Transportation's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (OCST). OCST can obligate the government to take action against persons involved in the licensed launch against third-party liability claims.

Several significant legal developments were made in the space industry for 1992. These include proposed authorizations of commercial low-orbit satellite constellations, new launch and reentry vehicle licensing criteria and planned revisions in commercial satellite export regulations. The year also saw the completion of new international guidelines covering the use of nuclear power sources in space and new frequency allocations at an International Telecommunications Union World Administrative Radio Conference.