nationally liable for harm produced by microwave radiation emanating from a space object. Any organization operating the SPS must have general international acceptance of microwave exposure standards in order to be safe from potential negligence suits. International agreement on microwave exposure standards may be reached much faster if a framework of bilateral agreements has been established between countries. The primary conclusion, after considering the legal regime to which the SPS would be subject, is that there are no unusual prohibitions against SPS deployment which could not be dealt with through international agreements. In terms of liability for operation of the SPS and its component parts, the scope and quality of international tort laws offer encouragement to those who may wish to embark on SPS programs. A future international regime governing activities in outer space, including SPS, will be influenced by a series of other international activities, including • The Law of the Sea negotiations • The Moon Treaty debate • World Administrative Radio Conferences • Deliberations regarding the legal status of the geostationary orbit Negotiations to implement the new Law of the Sea will establish precedents for the management of “common heritage” resources among nations and private parties. The outcome of these negotiations could produce another model of an organizational structure to develop and operate the SPS on an international basis. The concept of an international agency, such as the Seabed Authority, controlling and equitably disposing of the benefits of resources exploitation on behalf of the world community appears as a powerful precedent-setting accomplishment. The Moon Treaty has been the subject of negotiations within the UNCOPUOS for about 10 years. The main points of contention are possible restrictions placed upon space resource nations (particularly the United States) in the exploitation of the resources of the solar system. If the Moon Treaty should be ratified in its present form, there would be no immediate impact on the SPS in its reference configuration. The geostationary orbit is not covered in the treaty, and only Earth resources are contemplated for SPS development. Since there is so much ambiguity associated with the language of the treaty, these activities would represent a powerful precedent, which legal experts would be unlikely to ignore. If the Moon Agreement is adhered to without reservation by the technologically advanced countries, they would be well advised to take appropriate steps and measures initiating the internationalization of SPS now, while research and development (R&D) of the system is in its early phase, rather than proceed unilaterally in the misconception and unrealistic expectation that the large-scale transmission of solar power by satellites would escape the common heritage constraints of the Moon Agreement either by tacit international approval or otherwise. At the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC-79), Third World nations were in the majority for the first time. They had been expected to demand a larger share of the radio-frequency spectrum hitherto dominated by the industrialized nations. This expectation was based in part on ideological opposition to some of the U.S. proposals offered at WARC-79. The Third World nations also feared that they were not technologically competent enough to ensure their retention of a fair share of the radio-frequency spectrum. Questions concerning the use of the geostationary orbit also have been formally
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