SWF Statement – UN COPUOS LSC, Agenda Item 8: Capacity-Building in Space Law – Handbook for New Actors (March 2017)

Secure World Foundation announced the release of the first edition of its Handbook for New Actors in Space, highlighting its relevance to the Legal Subcommittee’s work on capacity-building for emerging and developing space states. The Handbook is designed to help new governmental and non-governmental space actors understand and implement responsible space behavior in line with international norms.

The Handbook is organized into three interdisciplinary chapters:

1. International Treaties & Principles – providing legal context developed through COPUOS.
2. National Policy & Regulation – outlining regulatory frameworks for space activity oversight.
3. Space Operations – covering best practices from pre-launch through end-of-life.

It includes comparative examples from current space actors and aims to serve as a practical tool for the growing and diversifying space community. SWF also announced plans for an interactive online version and encouraged feedback and collaboration from member states, academia, and industry to ensure the resource continues to evolve with community needs.