The Law of the United States of America on the Commercialization of Space Activities and Its Relationship with the Norms of International Space Law

Today, after the closure of a large number of international space projects, states are focusing on the development of a national space industry, in connection with which there is a need to form a national space law, the presence of which is especially relevant when creating conditions for the functioning of private space activities. The paper analyzes the domestic law of the United States of America in the field of space activities in general, commercial use of space in particular as an example of the most developed, and comprehensive codified national legislation, which has gradually been formed in the United States, starting from the 80s of the 20th century. The system of sources of national space law of the United States is considered, as well as individual regulatory legal acts directly aimed at creating favorable conditions for the participation of the private sector in space projects, including the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015, the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act of 2018. The paper further analyzes the relationship between the norms of US national space legislation and their international legal obligations, in particular with the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, by determining the place of international treaties in the US legal system and the method for resolving conflicts between statutes and international treaties. The issues of space resource extraction and military use of space, which are firmly rooted in US national policy and legislation, remain controversial from an international legal point of view.

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