New Space

Much has been written about the new space economy. However, until recently the literature remained fragmented across a wide range of academic papers, policy reports, and technical journals and has not adequately raised political economy questions that examine the dynamics of space economy growth and its implications on equity. This “perspective” offers a political economy research agenda by raising questions on the nature of the new space economy and the implications on equity arising from space-related economic activities.

With the advent of commercial suborbital space tourism, significant differences have emerged between recreational spaceflight and professional space agency missions in terms of operational goals, crew requirements, and medical standards. While commercial space tourism emphasizes accessibility and frequent launches, it faces challenges regarding crew training, medical certification, and emergency preparedness. In contrast, professional space agency missions adhere to rigorous health and training protocols to support extended durations and complex operations in space. This perspective examines these distinctions, explores the implications of current medical and operational practices, and highlights the importance of striking a balance between ensuring safety and promoting inclusivity in the growing space tourism industry.

Space medicine is an essential medical discipline that focuses on safe and healthy human space travel by incorporating medical information and practices from a number of relevant medical specialties to address the challenges and hazards of human spaceflight. With increasing global space activities, there is a growing demand for trained professionals in this field. We propose a cascade of educational and training programs: A short course (2–4 weeks) about space medicine, its roles, its accomplishments, and recommendations for further education; postgraduate diploma (6 months) that includes structured teaching, assessments, and practical components, covering critical areas in the practice of space medicine; master’s degree (1 to 2 years) covering the fundamental of space medicine with a rigorous research component to improve the safety and health of space-farers; and a residency program (2–4 years) that trains physicians to become certified space medicine specialists. This paper advocates for establishing comprehensive education and training programs in space medicine globally, emphasizing the Middle East due to its burgeoning space ambitions.

Recent decades have seen increased interest in Cislunar operations. To ensure the safety of flight and peace of operations in the Cislunar domain, a capability to provide current and predictive knowledge of resident space objects in the domain is required, which, in turn, necessitates a dedicated space situational awareness (SSA) system. However, SSA in the Cislunar domain is notoriously difficult to achieve due to the inherently large volume and the chaotic nature of orbits in the regime. These characteristics produce challenges in establishing persistent monitoring and limit predictive capabilities. To address these challenges, this study detailed a trade space for achieving effective Cislunar SSA (CSSA) by leveraging improved capabilities offered through very large (5–10× the size of currently available space-based apertures) radio frequency and optical sensors. The approach presupposes a paradigm shift in space operations that enables on-orbit manufacturing of large, precise structures. We show that access to very large apertures enables timely, persistent, and accurate CSSA through higher signal-to-noise ratios, resolutions, and detection ranges in the operational environment that could not otherwise be achieved by leveraging a proliferated network of many smaller, conventionally sized sensors.

The launch of Sputnik-1, the first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957, was an important turning point in the history of human civilization. It triggered significant political, military, technological, and scientific advancements. It also laid the foundation of bitter contemptuous competition between the United States and former Soviet Union for supremacy in the exploration of space. But with the passing of time, the traditional space race paradigm evolved with new players, including private spaceflight entities, giving rise to a modern “New Space Race” characterized by diverse participants and broader objectives. These activities accelerate space exploration and the launching of more satellites, which generates the problem of space debris, causing significant threats to the sustainability of outer space. The risk of collision of debris in earth orbit has been escalating catastrophically, leading to a chain reaction of breaking it, known as Kessler Syndrome. The development of the Antisatellite technology and China’s test on the FY-1C weather satellite substantially adds fuel to the fire, increasing the risk of debris. This article addressed the following research question: How well does the current international legal regime respond to space debris, and what binding reforms are needed for sustainability? It evaluates relevant legal challenges through doctrinal analysis of treaties, state practice, and comparative lessons from environmental and ultimately arms control regimes, and proposes actionable, enforceable legal solutions.

Ensuring energy supply security is a core interest of the modern state, which has historically entailed the colonial geographic expansion of extractive industry and political influence, if not outright control, over sites of extraction. Plans for the extraction of space resources, such as the 2019 ESA Space Resources Strategy, give insight into the increasing activity in space and the governance thereof, and how, or if, ESA diverges from or reproduces past territorially expansionist patterns of exploitation and destruction. Despite existing space law, space resource extraction is still on the frontiers of both policy-making and control. This article critically examines the Strategy through the dual lenses of critical geopolitics and emerging space criminology. It defines and applies colonialism, decolonialism, and space expansionism, showing how discourses of sustainability and innovation can conceal extractive and hegemonic practices. Drawing on both empirical examples and science fiction allegory, the article argues that ESA space-resource strategizing risks reproducing the “colonial trap.” It concludes by outlining pathways toward genuinely decolonized and sustainability-oriented governance of space resources.