Human activities in outer space will become ever more important because of increasing commercial activities such as space tourism, civilian and military activities, especially satellite launches, all the way to a potential future mining of extra-terrestrial commodities stemming from celestial bodies. The handbook describes the legal grounds for such human activities in outer space and on celestial bodies in 12 chapters. At the outset, an overview of the history of space flight, of space law and the applicable legal sources is given as well as the main legal concepts of international space law. Following this the national and international legal regime for space activities is introduced. Finally, an outlook is give as to the main legal and legislative tasks of the future. To this extent, close attention is also paid to the astrophysical and mechanical prerequisites of such activities. Moreover, the book contains various pictorial presentations, references to the relevant literature of every chapter as well as short summaries of each chapter facilitating a quick orientation and easy approach to this area of law.
