Issue Orbital governance built for a world that no longer exists

Summary

EY argues that the rules governing Earth orbit were written for an era that no longer exists. The founding space treaties of the 1960s and 1970s could not anticipate the commercial boom now under way. More than 100 countries are planning to enter space, and EY judges current approaches to managing orbital resources unsustainable. Open access to limited orbits is producing a tragedy of the commons, with crowding also consuming scarce radio frequencies and interfering with astronomy. Debris risks and military satellites add a geopolitical layer, and EY points to the Arctic as a place where lessons from orbit should prompt earlier, more precautionary governance.