Description
During the late twentieth century, technology development in the outer space sector was the domain of government-funded space agencies. However, in the twenty-first century, government agencies have diversified their approach to outer space and the private sector has emerged as a key player, driving the increase in commercial space activities. Private companies are undertaking technology development in space exploration, under contract from government agencies. This shift poses both opportunities and challenges for international cooperation which is crucial for advancing space exploration and technological development.
As part of the changing dynamics within the space sector, public-private partnerships are becoming increasingly important. However, there is a lack of clear regulatory frameworks and governance structures to guide these partnerships, especially those operating internationally. The current governance framework for outer space is not equipped to deal with the current environment where private companies have become major players in the outer space sector. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the challenges of governing international public-private partnerships between government agencies and the private sector in outer space exploration, which has not been widely examined in previous literature.
