Adoption and background of the Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities

 

December 2019 - United Nations General Assembly welcomed the adoption of the Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities

On 26 December 2019, in its Resolution 74/82 the United Nations General Assembly welcomed with appreciation the adoption by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) of the preamble and 21 guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities and the establishment, under a five-year workplan, of a working group under the agenda item on the long-term sustainability of outer space activities of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of COPUOS. In also noted that COPUOS encouraged States and international intergovernmental organizations to voluntarily take measures to ensure that the guidelines were implemented to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, and emphasized that COPUOS serves as the principal forum for continued institutionalized dialogue on issues related to the implementation and review of the Guidelines.

Note: Subsequent General Assembly Resolutions on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space have contained similar content. See, for instance, Resolution 76/76 of 15 December 2021; Resolution 77/121 of 15 December 2022; Resolution 78/72 of 11 December 2023 and Resolution 79/87 of 12 December 2024.

June 2019 - Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space adopted the Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities

In June 2019, the Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities (LTS Guidelines), which had been negotiated by the Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities, were adopted by COPUOS (see A/74/20, para. 163 and annex II).

At the same session, COPUOS also decided to establish a new working group under the long-term sustainability agenda item of its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (see A/74/20, para. 165 and more information about the new working group).

2018 - Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities agreed on a preamble and additional guidelines

In 2018, consensus was reached at the fifty-fifth session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of COPUOS on a preamble and nine additional guidelines (see A/AC.105/1167, annex III).

These included texts covering:

  • Enhance the practice of registering space objects;
  • Provide updated contact information and share information on space objects and orbital events;
  • Perform conjunction assessment during all orbital phases of controlled flight;
  • Develop practical approaches for prelaunch conjunction assessment;
  • Promote and facilitate international cooperation in support of the long-term sustainability of outer space activities;
  • Share experience related to the long-term sustainability of outer space activities and develop new procedures, as appropriate, for information exchange;
  • Design and operation of space objects regardless of their physical and operational characteristics;
  • Take measures to address risks associated with the uncontrolled re-entry of space objects;
  • Observe measures of precaution when using sources of laser beams passing through outer space.

2016 - Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities agreed on a first set of guidelines

At the fifty-ninth session of COPUOS, in June 2016, a first set of guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities was agreed upon (see A/71/20, annex). The first twelve guidelines included texts covering:

  • Adopt, revise and amend, as necessary, national regulatory frameworks for outer space activities;
  • Consider a number of elements when developing, revising or amending, as necessary, national regulatory frameworks for outer space activities;
  • Supervise national space activities;
  • Ensure the equitable, rational and efficient use of the radio frequency spectrum and the various orbital regions used by satellites;
  • Improve accuracy of orbital data on space objects and enhance the practice and utility of sharing orbital information on space objects
  • Promote the collection, sharing and dissemination of space debris monitoring information;
  • Share operational space weather data and forecasts;
  • Develop space weather models and tools and collect established practices on the mitigation of space weather effects;
  • Promote and support capacity-building;
  • Raise awareness of space activities;
  • Promote and support research into and the development of ways to support sustainable exploration and use of outer space;
  • Investigate and consider new measures to manage the space debris population in the long term.

2010 - Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities was established

The Working Group on the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities was established in 2010 under the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of COPUOS (see A/AC.105/958, para. 181) to identify areas of concern for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, propose measures that could enhance sustainability, and produce voluntary guidelines to reduce risks to the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.