Introduction

Abstract

In the beginning of the twenty-first century, we are the beneficiaries of a vast array of satellite-delivered services. These services are so embedded in our everyday lives—from navigation systems in our cars to weather maps on our phones to videos delivered to our screens—that the fact their delivery relies upon satellites is largely overlooked. The technologies needed and investment required in these space-based systems, however, remains significant. Moreover, the continuing operation of these space-based assets now depends upon the workings of a complex system of interlocking legal, regulatory, and procedural arrangements involving multiple governmental and industrial actors. It is these arrangements rooted in international law, good faith, and mutual self-interest that make it possible for the world’s satellite network operators to provide vital services. These operators must rely on assured access to both the necessary radio frequency spectrum resources across their vast service areas and their position in orbit. The story behind these international arrangements that underlie the satellite infrastructure we depend upon is the subject of this book (Fig. 1.1).