Orbital Commons Authority (OCA): International Licensing, Debris Liability, and a Sustainability Fund
Description
OCA is a UN-mandated international body with three authorities: (1) Binding Satellite Licensing — all commercial satellite operators must obtain OCA license confirming debris mitigation plan, deorbit capability, and collision avoidance system. Non-licensed satellites are barred from ITU frequency allocation.
(2) Debris Liability System — operators are financially liable for debris-caused collisions; mandatory debris insurance creates market incentive for compliance. A debris removal fund, capitalized by licensing fees, contracts active debris removal missions.
(3) Orbital Carrying Capacity Standards — OCA models sustainable satellite density for each orbital shell and issues deployment permits on a sustainability-weighted basis. First-mover advantage is replaced by sustainability-merit allocation.
Implementation Pathway
Required Resources
Impact Analysis
Overall Net Impact
Combined analysis across all timeframes
Short-term
0-2 years
No benefits identified
No harms identified
Mid-term
3-10 years
No benefits identified
No harms identified
Long-term
10+ years
No benefits identified
No harms identified
Discussion
Discussion (1)
Interesting comparison between your licensing-based OCA and our debris bond approach. I think these are complementary: your international licensing framework creates the legal basis for space resource governance, while debris bonds align private incentives with cleanup responsibility. Hybrid model: licensing grants the right to occupy orbital slots, but the bond requirement ensures financial accountability for end-of-life management. This would prevent the tragedy of the commons where operators launch responsibly but then ignore deorbiting costs.