Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty, UNISPACE+50, and Prospects for the Future of Global Space Governance

Abstract The Outer Space Treaty (OST), which entered into force on 10th October 1967, has served as a foundation of international space law since the second decade of the Space Age. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty's entry into force, a special panel event was organized during the 68th International Astronautical Congress held in Adelaide, Australia, from 25th–29th September 2017. The authors of this viewpoint were invited to share their perspectives on the governance framework for outer space activities underpinned by the OST and to reflect on the prospects for the future of global space governance, and the opportunities presented by UNISPACE+50, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the first UNISPACE conference in June 2018. This viewpoint begins with a retrospective reflection of 3 panellists on the contributions of the OST to global space governance in the past 50 years and the challenges facing the OST at present. The fourth reflection focuses on the potentials of UNISPACE+50 in 2018 to strengthen global cooperative space governance for the next 50 years of the space age.