On 28 December 2011 the Austrian Federal Law on the Authorisation of Space Activities and the Establishment of a National Registry (Austrian Outer Space Act) entered into force after its publication in the Federal Law Gazette I No 132. The planned launch of two Austrian satellites (Brite Austria Mission Tugsat 1 & UniBRITE) raised the question whether the existing legal framework in Austria was sufficient to deal with the specificities of space activities. The Austrian entities involved felt that there was a need to accompany the project with all its legal aspects. For this purpose, they approached the Austrian National Point of Contact for Space Law (NPOC) of the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL) which had been founded in 2001 by Prof. Christian Brünner at the University of Graz. In early 2009, the author of the present article as the then director of the NPOC Space Law Austria was entrusted by the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology to write a first draft of an Austrian space law. After two and a half years of negotiations which involved a considerable number of ministries, the draft was accepted by the Council of Ministers on 11 October 2011 as a proposal for consideration by the Austrian parliament.
With its only 17 articles, the Law is relatively short but is meant to be a comprehensive act which deals with all the legal aspects connected to space activities, such as authorisation, supervision, registration, liability, insurance, transfer of the space object as well as enforcement and sanctions. The relatively short length corresponds to the hitherto modest independent Austrian space activities, primarily dedicated to science, research and education. Nevertheless, the act is also designed for commercial space activities which might become more important in the future and, this is rather unusual, also for governmental space activities. In the drafting and negotiation process, under the lead of the Federal Ministry there was a general desire among the different ministries involved to establish a transparent system and a guaranteed flow of information between the different federal and territorial entities as far as prospective space activities are concerned. Furthermore, building up of the relevant knowhow as regards, in particular, authorisation and supervision was regarded as a challenge that could best be met by covering all kinds of Austrian space activities in the future.
Particular emphasis has been put on the mitigation of space debris. Small satellites are a very attractive option for newcomers as they are becoming technically more accessible and cheaper. Nevertheless, the responsibility of the States in this respect is more pertinent than ever before. States have the duty to avoid that small satellite projects, as laudable and welcome they are, do not harm large and expensive space activities which are of vital interest to the world population at large.
Thus, the new Austrian Outer Space Act covers a variety of issues connected to both international obligations of Austria in accordance with the five UN space treaties but also takes into account the particular needs of space activities being carried out by Austrian operators which for the moment encompass mainly educational and research purposes.
German version of the law
English version
Explanatory Report
