Collision risk handling at regulatory level, the example of the French space operations act

Abstract

With the issue of congestion of space becoming more and more alarming, many national regulations and international non-binding initiatives are starting to focus on Space Traffic Management needs. STM will indeed be critical in the near future to enable space flight safety, especially through the mitigation of collision risk for maneuverable spacecraft, and more generally the coordination of space activities for all phases of flight. Among these initiatives, France has recently updated its legal and regulatory framework to improve safety and sustainability of space operations performed under its authority, with the publication, on June 28 2024, of a new applicable version of the French Technical Regulation addressing innovative activities and significantly improving collision risk handling. While all recent developments in the field of Space Traffic Management agree on the necessity to better frame collision avoidance practices, the actual implementation within regulations or non-binding instruments may slightly differ and reflect a wide range of possible risk reduction measures. After a brief introduction on the French national law governing space operations, this paper will explore in details the choices made towards the introduction of obligations regarding collision risk management, and highlight their operational implications.