Key issues of modernization of space governance

Space is the fourth domain of human activities after land, sea and air. After 60 years of development, the number of China’s in-orbit spacecraft has ranked the second in the world. The scope of space activities is extending from near-Earth space to the moon, asteroids, Mars and other deep space objects. Commercial space industry grows vigorously. The governance of space activities is the management and regulation of various activities of entering, exploring, developing and utilizing space, including organization management, laws and regulations, international governance, technical support, etc. The governance modernization of space activities is the strategic pivot in modernization of national governance. It serves as means for nations that participate in global governance, and is also the prerequisite for becoming one of the leading nations in space domain. The governance system of space activities incorporates four aspects: Regime, protocol, global coordination, and technical means. The governance modernization of space activities is to reform the system and mechanism barriers, laws and regulations, and technical thresholds that are not suitable for present development, and to expedite its systematization, regularization, legalization, scientization. In this paper, the newest situation in the current space governance is analyzed from four perspectives, including the increasingly severe space security situation, the fierce competition for space resources, the increasing competition for international space dominance, and the necessity to improve the technical capabilities of space governance. On this basis, the development status of space governance in China is presented from four aspects, including the organization and management, laws and regulations, international cooperation, and pertinent technologies. Subsequently the three issues of space activities governance capabilities and modernization requirements are analyzed, including insufficient space resource coordination, inadequate space governance capabilities, and weak dominance of international dialogue. In respect of the above aspects, this paper proposes to strengthen the role of space activity governance in the national governance, to establish a mechanism for conducting research on the normalization of space activity governance, to promote the process of legislation related to space governance, to increase policy support and investment in international cooperation, and to carry out a series of measures such as strengthening the guidance and supervision of commercial space activities. In terms of organization and management, it is necessary to focus on the research of organizational optimization, efficient operation mechanisms, and organization and management effectiveness evaluation. In terms of laws and regulations, it is necessary to focus on the framework of the legal and regulatory system, the formulation of key laws and regulations, and the efficient implementation mechanism of laws and regulations. In terms of international cooperation, it is necessary to focus on the research of long-term sustainable international cooperation goals and policies, international rules based on the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, and major projects to facilitate international cooperation. In terms of technical support systems, it is necessary to focus on space object monitoring, space data application, space spectrum monitoring, space debris mitigation, space facility maintenance, near-Earth object defense and other technical research of space activities in the governance support technology system. The methods mentioned above will accelerate the modernization of China’s governance system and capability of space activities and lay a solid foundation for becoming a space power.