Low Earth Orbit, Satellite Constellations and Regulation

Low earth orbit (“LEO”) has always attracted significant interest from the commercial space industry. With the cost of placing assets in space rapidly declining and access to capital becoming easier as commercial uses of space are becoming normalised, new regulatory issues are emerging. Today, several large ‘mega-constellations’ are being deployed by global corporate entities. These mega-constellations create significant challenges as well as many opportunities for the Australian space industry, policy-makers and regulators. This Report identifies and evaluates the legal and regulatory arrangements and risks for these LEO satellites with the aim of providing an Australian perspective on global regulatory challenges to help inform preparations for the next World Radio Conference (“WRC”) to be held in 2023 (“WRC 23”), and to educate key stakeholders on the issues relevant to LEO operations.