APPLICATION OF THE FRENCH SPACE OPERATION ACT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPACE ATIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF LAUNCHERS

摘要

The development of space activities has led France torndefine a new legal framework: French Space OperationrnAct (FSOA). The aim of this act, is to define thernconditions according to which the French governmentrnauthorizes and checks the spatial operations under itsrnjurisdiction or its international responsibility as State ofrnlaunch, according to the international treaties of the UNrnon space, in particular the Treaty (1967) on PrinciplesrnGoverning the Activities of States in the Explorationrnand Use of Outer Space, the Convention ( 1972 ) onrnInternational Liability for Damage Caused by SpacernObjects, and the Convention (1975) on Registration ofrnObjects Launched into Outer Space.rnThe main European space centre is the Guiana SpacernCentre (CSG), settled in France. A clarification of thernFrench legal framework was compulsory to allow thernarrival of new launchers (Soyuz and Vega).rnThis act defines the competent authority, the procedurernof authorization and licenses, the regime for operationsrnled from foreign countries, the control of spatialrnobjects, the enabling of inspectors, the delegation ofrnmonitoring to CNES, the procedure for urgentrnmeasures necessary for the safety, the registration ofrnspatial objects.rnIn this framework, the operator is fully responsible ofrnthe operation that he leads. He is subjected to a regimernof authorization and to governmental technicalrnmonitoring delegated to CNES. In case of litigation,rnthe operator gets the State guarantee above a certainrnlevel of damage to third party.rnThe introduction of FSOA has led to issue a TechnicalrnRegulation set forth, in particular for the safety ofrnpersons and property, the protection of public healthrnand the environment. This general regulation isrncompleted by a specific regulation applicable to CSGrnthat covers the preparation phase of the launch, and allrnspecificities of the launch range, as regards thernbeginning of the launch. The Technical Regulation isrnbased on 30 years of Ariane’s activities and on thernapplication of international standards. Thus, itsrnintroduction has been made easy. The TechnicalrnRegulation is mainly written in term of objectives ofrnsafety, leaving great possibilities of technicalrninnovations or improvements to the developer andrnoperators.rnIn the Technical Regulation, the approach of riskrnmanagement is based on two orientations: preventionrnof risk on one side, treatment of risks on the other side.rnThe prevention of risks is based on the reliability of thernlaunch system, and the treatment of risk is based eitherrnon a neutralization function, or the control of trajectoryrnaccording to the phase of the mission. The monitoringrnof activity is fitted to this approach of control of risks.rnThus, the operator and its final customer, practicallyrnbenefit from the system of monitoring associated to thernact.rnOne of the contributions of FSOA is a clarification ofrnroles, between on one side an operator that controls thernactivities, and on the other side an independent entityrnthat monitors activities according to the TechnicalrnRegulation.rnThis act introduce a secured legal framework, on onernside clear and suitable for protecting anyone againstrndangers linked necessarily to space activities, on thernother side offering to all actors a favourablernenvironment for the development of their activities.rnA first appraisal of the application of the authorizationrnregime applied since 2010, December 10th, is presented.