Abstract
For more than five decades, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty has served as the bedrock for international space law and governance. Interim developments, however, especially technical advances, have resulted in profound changes in the conduct of activities in space, rendering the treaty's shortcomings all the more salient.
Today, burgeoning democratization and commercialization of the outer space domain threaten to leave legal and governance arrangements in the dust, exacerbating orbital congestion and heightening the potential for disputes. Emerging and horizon issues, such as the impending advent of vast laser arrays, satellite mega-constellations, and large-scale space-resource utilization, demand innovative thinking as well as new rules and norms to mitigate risks and maximize benefits from space exploration and use.