Satellite Swarms Pose Regulatory Challenges
August 2, 2020
Private companies have increasingly entered the space business, long dominated by the governments of the United States and other major powers, an analyst pointed out in Issues several years ago. Along with the benefits deriving from private space innovation will come challenges, she noted, citing as one example how government regulators might have trouble keeping up with expanded manufacture and launch of satellites. Welcome to today—as a growing roster of companies plan to send many thousands of new satellites into orbit, yet US space policies still aren’t keeping pace.