Orbital Debris Prevention and Mitigation Efforts among Major Space Actors: Commonalities and the Search for Customary International Law

In the absence of formal treaty law, orbital debris has grown exponentially in our most valuable orbital regions. To address this problem, many major spacefaring programs have implemented independent laws and policies meant to mitigate the release and overall threat of debris. However, these individual efforts have not translated into a cohesive international set of regulations to address the growing debris problem. Fortunately, there may exist unappreciated similarities among major international programs, either in whole or part, that once identified could lay the groundwork for the recognition of customary international law. This book reviews a number of major programs in depth and seeks to answer if any commonality among them has likely established customary international law.