Space is a Shared Commons With No Landlord: Governance Vacuum in Low Earth Orbit
Problem Definition
Low Earth Orbit is filling with satellites and debris faster than any governance framework can manage it. SpaceX has FCC approval for 42,000 Starlink satellites. Amazon plans 3,236 for Project Kuiper. OneWeb, Telesat, and dozens of others are competing for the same orbital slots.
Meanwhile, dead satellites, rocket bodies, and collision fragments accumulate with no cleanup mechanism.
The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 — the bedrock of space law — establishes that space is the 'province of all mankind' but provides no enforcement mechanism, no liability framework that functions in practice, and no authority to compel debris removal or limit constellation size. We are conducting an uncontrolled experiment on a resource that all of civilization depends on.
Root Causes
Outer Space Treaty assigns no national jurisdiction over orbital slots — no entity has authority to enforce cleanup
Commercial operators have no financial liability for debris they create that damages others' assets
ITU frequency coordination was designed for geostationary orbit, not mega-constellations in LEO
No international body has mandate or technical capability to track, attribute, and act on debris creation events
First-mover advantage incentivizes rapid deployment before regulations are set — creating a race to occupy orbital slots