SATELLITE POWER AS A COMMON HERITAGE ISSUE As noted by Christol (1), solar power satellites will depend on the exploitation of world natural resources. These resources include geostationary orbit assignment, radio frequency spectrum assignment, and solar radiation. Satellite power may also involve effects on three additional “global” resources: the exosphere environment, the near-Earth atmosphere, and the global climate. It is often stated that the use of these resources by SPS will be governed by the international legal principle of res communis: the “rules” developed during the 17th and 18th centuries governing the use of territory and resources not governed by the jurisdiction of specific nations. As noted in Table 1, the application of res communis to the global resources required by SPS would limit intervention in SPS R&D by international authorities. However, it is likely that some nations and scholars will claim that these resources constitute part of “the common heritage of mankind,” and that their use should be governed by the “common heritage” concept of international resource use. This “common heritage” concept consists of the evolving principles of international law governing the use of specific resources viewed as part of the perpetual common resource heritage of mankind and therefore not subject to being claimed by individual nations. As summarized in Table 1, the application of the “common heritage” concept, as defined by Third World scholars, to resources required for SPS development, would create significant potential barriers to implementation of SPS, including extensive intervention by international regulatory authorities (2). In general, Western scholars define “common heritage” resources as limited, nonrenewable, and necessary for the future well-being of the human species. Solar radiation, geostationary orbit assignments, and radio frequency spectrum assignments fail to meet these criteria. However, non-Western legal scholars and governments have been known to claim specific resources as part of the “common heritage” merely on the basis that the resources in question are used by all of mankind. In the case of SPS use of geostationary orbits and radio frequency spectrum assignments, potential “common heritage” arguments would be strengthened by the apparent operational limitations on the possible number of such assignments (3). It has not been conclusively demonstrated that the relatively small amount of energy spillover from an SPS microwave beam or the waste heat released from surface rectennas might have long-term impacts on the world climate. Even less is known about potential SPS impacts on the Van Allen belts and on the exosphere environment. Under these circumstances, the claim that satellite power systems deteriorate these “common heritage” resources is most likely to be related internationally to political considerations. For example, if the Soviet bloc wishes to prevent or delay development of SPS by the West, it is likely that the microwave exposure standards promulgated by the USSR would be invoked as a global standard for exposure to SPS-generated microwave radiation. On the other hand, if the Soviet bloc did not wish to prevent SPS development — or wished to develop SPS unilaterally — the application of such standards would probably not be introduced in international forums (4). Similar health, climatological, and exospheric impacts of SPS are most likely to be discussed under current circumstances in conjunction with politically or ideologically-motivated opposition to satellite power. The best response to such claims is therefore additional research on SPS impacts combined with serious consideration of the political/ideological basis for such claims. The position of the industrialized nations on “common heritage” issues is not well defined. U.S. representatives have stated that “common heritage” is an “impor-
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