Small Communication Satellites: A Promising Space Industry Needing Insurance

• Main Author: معمر بن طرية
• Format: Article
• Language: Arabic
• Published: Qatar University Press 2021-05-01
• Series: International Review of Law
• Subjects: Small communications satellites; Cube satellite; Space object; Space internet; Space launch risks; Space damage insurance
• Online Access: https://185.37.108.12/index.php/IRL/article/view/1816

The small satellite industry has experienced unprecedented growth over the past four years. Nearly two hundred (200) small satellites were launched, with a weight ranging from one (1) to (50) kilograms. Attractively, this has led to the democratization of the space launch activity, providing the opportunity for various categories of people to explore space at lower cost. Hence, the importance of addressing the subject of small satellites within information and communication technologies, seems to be linked to a promising field which is "Satellite Internet", with the emergence of ambitious projects aiming to invest in "small satellites", in particular the "OneWeb" project targeting to launch more than 600 small satellites to connect the whole universe to internet. From there also emerges the importance of considering opportunities available in the insurance market to prevent the risks linked to the launch of small satellites through the analysis of the most significant comparative laws governing this field, such as American and English laws, French, Dutch and Russian laws. We also conducted a reading of certain insurance policies written to cover the risks of this activity, so to determine benefits of these comparative models and estimate the means of benefiting from them in our Arab legislations. Finally, this study also points out that the international and Arab legal framework, is no longer in line with the specificity of small satellites activity, which has led to the emergence of some organizational challenges in the field of international liability resulting from the space launch activity, as well as the extent of the possibility of insuring against its risks.