Letter to U.S. Senate on the Outer Space Treaty and Commercial Space Development

In this letter submitted for the record ahead of the May 2017 Senate hearing on “Reopening the American Frontier,” the Secure World Foundation strongly supports continued U.S. commitment to the Outer Space Treaty (OST) as the cornerstone of international space law.

The letter makes several key points:

• The OST was spearheaded by the United States and enshrines private commercial activity in space under government supervision.
• It establishes a permissive legal framework, with limited restrictions and clear obligations such as liability, registration, and peaceful use.
• The OST has enabled five decades of commercial growth, including a multibillion-dollar industry driven by U.S. companies and innovation.
• Challenges facing new space companies are rooted more in gaps in national law, such as export controls and licensing limits, than in the OST itself.
• Amending or withdrawing from the Treaty would be diplomatically difficult and legally risky, and the U.S. should instead lead through domestic law and multilateral norm-setting.

SWF concludes that the best path forward is to maintain the Treaty while enhancing U.S. oversight and leadership in shaping new commercial frameworks.