Space is the new frontier and space law is relevant to ensure that this final frontier is chartered with regulation and order to avoid the chaos that will be detrimental to humankind. This book is written with the understanding that the relevance and substance of space law as a branch of public international law continues to expand and it is imperative that members of the legal profession come to understand it.

This treatise therefore presents a concise, engaging and pleasantly delivered explanation of what space law is, its evolution through the years, sources, the challenges of space law, space law institutions, space law and private companies and the relevance of lawyers in space affairs. This text features discussions on the five fundamental treaties that regulate outer space activities as orchestrated by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). These treaties cover issues such as the militarization of space, liability for any damage of a space object, protection of the space environment, rescue of astronauts, registration of space objects, human use of space resources, etc.

This text has been substantially written to help legal minds and other non-legal but interested persons gain the basic knowledge about space law and the current trends and challenges in space law and technology in recent years. Issues such as the proliferation of non-state and commercial entities as space actors, the appearance of innovations in space technology, the evolving international law of satellite telecommunications in a networked world, the adoption of national laws and international soft law mechanisms that complement the international treaty regime and Intellectual Property Rights in space are also succinctly discussed.

This book has been presented in a clear, concise and easy to understand manner and is accordingly highly and enthusiastically recommended to learned members of the Bar and all members of the public. This text points out that space lawyers are very much needed in space affairs and encourages lawyers to venture into the field of space law. Everyone who reads this book will find it easy to read, interesting and rewarding.

Anne Uruegi Agi, LL.M, FCPAN

Lecturer II

Faculty of Law

University of Calabar

Calabar

January, 2022.