| by Dr. Ruwatissa Abeyratne
( November 30, 2012, Ontario, Sri Lanka Guardian) I was quite encouraged
when I read the President’s recent message to the nation on the
launching of Supreme SAT-1 into orbit. The President said in
his message: “The launch of this satellite will be the beginning of more such
ventures that will help promote Foreign Direct Investment, increase export
earnings to the country, and help greatly in the transfer of technology within
and outside this Region”.
This is the way to go, not only for national pride as Sri Lanka enters
the space age but for the country’s advancement through partnerships.
A satellite could be used for communications and the creation of
imagery.
In terms of communications the biggest beneficiary could be air
navigation. In this context service providers and airline operators have to
collaborate in ensuring a seamless global air navigation system. Modern
technology offers sophisticated air‑ground data communications by VHF (very
high frequency) and satellite, assisted by precise navigation by
inertial/GNSS and computing in air traffic services. These will be
used in the negotiation of “dynamic user preferred routes” offering various
alternatives to airline operators which provide fuel and time savings.
However, such preferences for flight profiles and uses thereof will be subject
to meteorological exigencies which have to be cautiously assessed. This
imposes an added burden on both the service provider and airline operator.
Judgment and interpretation will be critical factors in this process, an
inevitable corollary of which will be the need to examine legal aspects of the
modern seamless air traffic management system.
Satellite imagery involves a process which uses cameras or sensor
systems usually mounted on an orbiting satellite that capture light reflected
from the earth’s surface. The fundamental principle of this imagery process is
that natural and man‑made materials absorb and reflect varying quantities of
light in different wavelengths and, through this absorption and reflection
process, energy (light) enables satellite sensors to collect data by
interacting with objects on the surface of the earth such as plants, soils and
buildings in a way that makes possible the extraction of such data and
information. Such information is absorbed by the camera/sensor system on
the orbiting satellite and transmitted back to earth in a digital format and
transformed or converted to images that are capable of being interpreted by sophisticated
image processing software. This process makes satellite imagery ideally
applicable to the requirement for detail pertaining to large area coverage such
as regional cartography, environmental assessment, infrastructure planning and
agricultural monitoring.
A significant development in recent satellite imagery through spatial
information is the launching of the highest resolution commercial remote
sensing satellite with an on‑board digital camera having the capability of
producing one‑meter or better resolution at nadir to focus on the lowest point
in the panchromatic, full spectrum mode and four‑meter resolution imagery in
the red, green, blue and near infra‑red (NIR) bands. Such a one‑meter
resolution will enable the user to distinguish between objects which are one
meter in size on the ground if they have distinguishable physical and visual
characteristics. Easily detectable under this spatial recognition system are
stripes in parking lots, swimming pools, cars, trucks, boats, tennis courts,
landscape features, all within their surroundings and environs.
Satellite imagery is not restricted to photography. New sophisticated
electronic sensors enable even more powerful imagery that mere photos – digital
data that can be analysed, processed and interpreted on computers – computer
analysis in digital format admits of possibilities for data to be used in
multifarious ways using differences in spectral responses from ground features.
The usefulness of this process is emphasized and highlighted when satellite
imagery is used in conjunction with the geographic information system (GIS) and
the global positioning system (GPS), which together can construct a complete
model of an area.
The dynamic applications of a spatial satellite imaging system will be
invaluable to attorneys, insurers and risk managers in acquiring data and
information on natural and man‑made disasters. The Chernobyl Nuclear Plant
disaster and the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska are two such incidents which
were tracked and recorded for use by television and major newspaper media. The
most significant area of contribution is in prediction or preparation where, a
satellite just overhead of a disaster area can identify through its imagery an
impending disaster or occurrence.
At the incipient stage of remote sensing applications, the deployment of
remote sensing satellites were for military strategic purposes, remote sensing
can now be used to further scientific and discovery objectives. Commercial
pursuit of remote sensing for scientific and discovery objectives, called civil
remote sensing, is usually conducted by agencies, organizations and individuals
who exploit remote sensing systems and data to promote the general welfare and
provide for the public good. Commercial remote sensing may be impelled by the
motive to make profit, either through procurement or sale of data obtained
through sensing.
A legal regime applying a codification of customary legal principles
calculated to bind nations and private enterprises through nations was set up in
1987 by the United Nations, when it adopted Resolution 41/65. This
resolution was a carefully thought out one, which took the United States and
other nations involved 13 years to draft, beginning 1974. The remote sensing
principles, as established by Resolution A41/65 admit of access and
distribution of data and information generated by remote sensing systems.
This activity has its genesis in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 which
stipulates that the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and
other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit of and in the
interest of all countries, on the basis of equality. Article IX of
the Treaty embodies a principle of cooperation between nations and provides
that the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out by States
parties in a spirit of cooperation and mutual assistance and with due regard to
the corresponding interests of all other parties to the Treaty.
The basic principle of space law that addresses this issue is the
"common interest" principle which emerged as a result of the first
specific Resolution on space law of the United Nations General Assembly in
1958. The "common interest" principle has since been
incorporated in subsequent multilateral treaties, particularly the Outer
Space Treaty of 1967, Article 1(1) of which provides that :the exploration
and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be
carried out for the benefit and in the interest of all countries, irrespective
of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the
province of all mankind.
This provision, which binds signatory States is seemingly a departure
from the traditional "national interest" approach of international
law and has represented a moral obligation to some, while to others the
provision has represented a or mandatory legal principle. Whatever be the
approach taken by some States in refusing to share information and findings
with other States, particularly those States that are sensed who request the
sharing of such information. Since much of space exploration is conducted for
the benefit of humanity, primacy must be accorded to those principles of law
that entrench legal rules pertaining to human conduct and social benefit.
In this perspective, principles of space law, as contained in the space law
treaties discussed above support the basic principles of human welfare
applicable in the field of aviation. Therefore, rules of conduct for
States and other actors should be considered as being integral to the
obligations of States whether or not they are enforceable at law.
 I was quite encouraged when I read the President’s...){kind=link}