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Help From Above: The Role Of International Law In Facilitating The Use Of Outer Space For Disaster Management, Brian R. Israel

Brian R Israel

This chapter explores the role of international law as well as non-legal mechanisms in enabling the use of outer space for valuable new disaster management applications. This overall challenge is addressed in three phases, ranging from the collective action problems arising from the use of space in general, to sovereignty-based objections to observing the Earth from space, to the complex coordination challenges of harnessing existing space systems for disaster applications. One mechanism in particular, the legally non-binding International Charter for Space and Major Disasters, serves as a remarkable case study in international cooperation because of the speed with which it …