ABSTRACT

With the growing numbers of orbiting satellites and debris, and the rising strategic and military interests in space, the security and safety of space assets are becoming a major concern. The European Union, nowadays a major user of security-related space assets, especially through its Galileo and Copernicus programs, has become an active promoter of the development of a global normative framework to guarantee space security. To this end, it proposed to the international community in 2008 a draft Code of Conduct for Space Activities. A revised version of the Code, intended as a non-binding instrument, was issued in 2014. Besides the interest shown by many States, including the US, others, such as China and Russia, have opposed the project, leading to its de facto rejection. The EU is therefore currently trying to find alternative ways to pursue in the relevant international fora, in cooperation with other actors, the goal of a safer and more secure outer space environment.