The Legal Status of Suborbital Aviation Within the International Regulatory Framework for Air and Space Use

This Chapter covers the current state of international law, including the state of the two regimes of international law affecting suborbital activities: international aviation law and international space law, in order to determine whether suborbital aviation is covered by these legal regimes, as well as the effects of these regimes on the obligations of national legislators in this area. The inclusion of these considerations in the second chapter facilitates the analysis of national space legislation contained in the legal systems of individual states, which should be shaped in a way that does not contradict the international obligations of the state concerned.