Originally from Pro-Arbitration Revisited: A Tribute to Professor George Bermann from his Students Over the Years

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I. THE INCREASING EXPLORATION OF SPACE AND A LIKELY RISE IN THE NUMBER OF DISPUTES

While not long ago, space exploration was a domain reserved for States, and even among States only to those with the extraordinary means required to undertake missions beyond Earth, the last decades have witnessed the increasing privatization and democratization of our orbits. Space activities now increasingly attract private investment and range from telecommunication services, Earth observation and military applications to space tourism and space mining projects. According to Euroconsult, the global space economy totaled USD 370 billion in 2021. According to authors such as Robert Zubrin, the settlement of Mars or the mining of asteroids are now well within our reach, and the opportunities in outer space seem endless. However, these new developments are not without risks, and it is likely that the increasing exploitation of outer space will be accompanied by a rising number of disputes between spacefaring parties. 

The disputes that we can expect are above all contractual, as space activities, like activities on Earth, imply a large number of contractual relationships governing for example the manufacturing, transport, and launch of satellites, or maybe soon new activities such as the provision of space hotels.