ABSTRACT
While most people are familiar with the five core space treaties, there is much more to international space law than these five instruments. Because space law is embedded in the larger system of public international law, much of “general international law” applies to space and space activities. Furthermore, as discussed in the introductory chapter, space law is made up of national laws which interact with the international system. In order to understand the larger corpus juris spatialis, or body of space law, it is necessary to understand its place in both the international system and the various national systems. Since a comparative analysis of domestic laws is undertaken in Part III of this book, the intention here is to contextualize the different sources of space law and the different law-making processes. Sources of law can be defined as the systems or processes that allow law to come into being.1
