Resources
Space Regulatory Bodies
A checked directory of the space regulators, treaty bodies, registers and primary rule texts that govern activity in orbit.
54 entries5 groupsLast checked August 2026
Every entry below links to the official page rather than to a summary of it. Use the filters to narrow by region.
11 entries
United Nations and international
The treaty machinery, the registers and the spectrum coordinator. Almost every national rule below traces back to one of these.
UNOOSA: Space Law
The UN office that services the space treaties and publishes treaty texts, national laws and capacity building material.
UNOOSA: Treaty Status Table
The authoritative record of which states have signed, ratified or acceded to each of the five UN space treaties.
UNOOSA: National Space Law Collection
Searchable database of domestic space legislation submitted by member states.
COPUOS
The intergovernmental committee where space treaties, guidelines and consensus norms are negotiated.
COPUOS Legal Subcommittee
Session pages carrying agendas, working papers and national statements on resources, debris and registration.
UN Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space
Where launching states file object registration data under the 1975 Registration Convention.
ITU Radiocommunication Sector: Space Services
Records satellite frequency and orbital slot filings and runs the coordination and notification procedures.
ITU-R Space Services: All Activities
Index of the ITU filing systems, including BR IFIC, the Space Network List and e-Submission.
Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee
The agency forum whose mitigation guidelines sit underneath most national debris rules.
IADC Public Documents
Source texts of the IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines and the supporting technical reports.
The Hague Space Resources Governance Working Group
Archive of the 2019 Building Blocks, still the most cited draft framework for space resource activity.
12 entries
United States
Three agencies do most of the work: the FAA licenses the flight, the FCC licenses the spectrum, and Commerce licenses remote sensing and runs civil traffic coordination.
FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation
Issues launch, reentry, launch site and reentry site licences and experimental permits under 14 CFR Part 450.
FCC Space Bureau
Licenses satellite systems and earth stations and attaches orbital debris and spectrum sharing conditions.
Office of Space Commerce
Runs civil space traffic coordination through TraCSS and holds commercial space regulatory policy.
Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs
Licenses private Earth remote sensing systems, now administered under the Office of Space Commerce.
NASA: Artemis Accords
The Accords text and the current signatory list for the lunar activity principles.
State Department Office of Space Affairs
Leads US space diplomacy, the COPUOS delegation and bilateral space agreements.
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls
Administers ITAR and licenses export of defence listed space hardware and technical data.
Bureau of Industry and Security: CCL Classification
EAR licensing for dual use space items, including the 9x515 spacecraft series.
14 CFR Part 450: Launch and Reentry Licences
The performance based FAA rule governing launch and reentry licensing and flight safety analysis.
14 CFR Part 440: Financial Responsibility
Sets insurance, maximum probable loss and third party liability requirements for licensed activity.
47 CFR Part 25: Satellite Communications
FCC rules for space and earth station licensing, including the orbital debris disclosure regime.
22 CFR Part 121: US Munitions List
Category XV lists spacecraft and related articles controlled as defence articles under ITAR.
11 entries
Europe
Thirteen national regimes today, and a single EU regulation in negotiation that would sit over the top of them.
European Commission DG DEFIS: EU Space Act
The official page for the proposed regulation on the safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities.
EU Agency for the Space Programme
Delivers Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus and GOVSATCOM services and their security accreditation.
European Space Agency
An intergovernmental agency under its own 1975 Convention, and a launching entity in its own right.
ESA Space Debris Office
Tracks the orbital environment and publishes the annual space environment report.
ESA Space Debris User Portal and DISCOS
Public database and statistics on launches, objects, orbits and fragmentation events.
UK Civil Aviation Authority: Space Licences
The UK space regulator, issuing launch, spaceport, range control and orbital operator licences.
UK Space Agency
Policy, funding and international programmes. It is no longer the licensing regulator.
CNES: French Space Operations Act
CNES gives the technical assessment that underpins French operator authorisations under the LOS.
Luxembourg Space Agency: Law of 20 July 2017
The first European law to state that space resources are capable of being owned, with the authorisation regime around it.
German Space Agency at DLR
Executes German space policy and ESA contributions. Germany still has no dedicated national space act.
Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
The Italian national space agency and the implementing body for Italy's space activities framework.
10 entries
Asia Pacific and rest of world
The fastest moving group. India, Japan, the UAE, Australia and New Zealand have all rewritten or created authorisation regimes in the past decade.
IN-SPACe
The single window authorisation and supervisory body for non-government space activity under the Indian Space Policy 2023.
Indian Space Research Organisation
India's national space agency, now refocused on research and advanced technology demonstration.
Cabinet Office of Japan: National Space Policy
Sets the Basic Plan on Space Policy and administers launch and satellite management licensing.
JAXA
The national space agency, and the technical authority under the Japanese Space Activities Act.
Australian Space Agency: Permits and Licences
Issues launch facility licences, launch permits, overseas payload permits and return authorisations.
New Zealand Space Agency
Licenses launches, facilities, payloads and high altitude activities under the 2017 Act.
UAE Space Agency: Policies and Regulations
Publishes the UAE space sector regulations and licensing rules.
China National Space Administration
The government body for space policy, international cooperation and object registration filings.
Global Affairs Canada: Remote Sensing Licensing
Licenses Canadian remote sensing satellite systems under the Remote Sensing Space Systems Act.
Canadian Space Agency
Programmes and missions. Licensing sits with Global Affairs Canada, not the agency.
10 entries
Research, data and professional bodies
Where the scholarship, the orbital data and the practitioner community actually live.
International Institute of Space Law
The learned society of space lawyers. Runs the Manfred Lachs Moot and files observer positions at COPUOS.
International Astronautical Federation
Runs the International Astronautical Congress and its space law and policy technical committees.
Secure World Foundation
Independent research on space governance, sustainability and counterspace, widely cited in proceedings.
Space Data Association
Operator funded body pooling ephemeris data for conjunction assessment and interference resolution.
CelesTrak
Free public orbital element sets, catalogue data and conjunction analysis tools.
Space-Track.org
The US Space Force catalogue of tracked objects and conjunction data messages. Free account required.
Journal of Space Law
The longest running dedicated space law journal, with a full archive and submission details.
McGill Institute of Air and Space Law
Graduate institute behind the MILAMOS and Woomera manuals on military uses of space.
Leiden International Institute of Air and Space Law
The leading European air and space law institute, and convenor of The Hague working group.
Center for Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi
Publishes the Journal of Space Law and hosts US space law graduate programmes.
Something missing or out of date?
We would rather fix a broken link than leave it. Send the correction and we will credit it in the change note.