[Answered] “For peaceful use of space for human benefit it is important and need of the hour to frame outer space law.” Comment.

With outer space becoming the 4^th dimension of warfare, India cannot remain a mute spectator to the grim reality of final frontiers emerging as a new theatre of war. For India, a comprehensive space act has become a critical necessity to give a greater level of acceleration to its space activities.

Need of outer space law:

1. There has been a burgeoning growth in the global space activities, underpinning the need for a regulatory mechanism supported by a legal framework.
2. Space law is needed to facilitate the smooth, robust growth of the exploration of space without any negative fall outs for earthlings.
3. There is a growing demand for a comprehensive, legally binding treaty to commit nations to keep outer space a zone of peace.
4. It is important to treat outer space as the common heritage of mankind meant for peaceful uses.
5. Outer space is becoming an arena for technological shows of force whether by deployment of spy satellites or testing of weapons.
6. Missiles are one aspect of space warfare, there are several equally effective methods like lasers, to incapacitate satellites that are being developed and are of equally serious concern.
7. The Outer Space Treaty does not ban military activities within space or the weaponisation of space, with the exception of the placement of weapons of mass destruction in space.
8. Along with international law, there is need of separation between civilian and military use of outer space, international co-operation, free exchange of ideas across borders and import of technologies and products to bring transparency and to build confidence among nations.

While legally binding international treaties are vitally essential to regulate the healthy and meaningful growth of space activities without any negative or problematic consequences for earthlings, individual space faring nations too should have their own space acts to regulate their space activities in consonance with dynamics of global space activities. For India, which has made a mark as a leading space faring nation in the aftermath of the successful probes to moon and Mars, a comprehensive space act has become a critical necessity to give a greater level of acceleration to its space activities.