Outer space and the non-appropriation principle

On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched a space object, Sputnik I, which orbited the Earth over 1,400 times during the following three months. Thus began humankind’s adventures in outer space. This milestone heralded the dawn of the space age, over the ensuing decades giving rise to the development of fundamental principles that would underpin the legal regulation of the exploration and use of outer space. The Sputnik journey highlighted almost immediately some difficult and controversial legal questions, involving previously undetermined concepts. Some earlier scholarship considered the nature and scope of laws that might apply to the exploration and use of outer space, but only at a hypothetical level. However, history changed forever on that day in 1957. Suddenly, the reality of humankind’s aspirations and capabilities with respect to outer space became apparent. The world had to react, quickly, to an unprecedented event in an unregulated legal environment, particularly because it was clear that this was just the dawn of a quest to undertake a wide range of space activities. First and foremost, Sputnik necessitated a clarification as to the legal categorization of outer space for the purposes of international law.