Abstract
Discussions over effective space policies stimulating international cooperation and collaboration are common but without the drift of solid and fresh theory. Recent turn in theory of international relations towards studying Large Technical Systems in global politics can be used in order to draft inclusive, cooperative and generally beneficial policies to the global society.
Vision of global space agency is a mantra of every IAC. In Bremen, public asked the opening panel when it will be delivered.
We argue that perceiving and designing space mission as LTS would help to establish significantly more inclusive decentralized global space governance that can significantly change the way we govern space activities on a global scale without global space agency. Nation states tend to deviate from norms, free-ride the opportunities or change political direction upon their local elections that all threaten sustainable global governance in space.
LTS as a socio-technical complex intertwining material and social relations across various boundaries including geographical require diverse expertise to build, sustain and govern. Moreover, as GPS proved us, single-service satellite constellations have power to change the society unprecedently by stimulating network of services global society depends on.
As such LTSs can prevent actors in international relations from defections and secure their long-term participation. In order to demonstrate the argument, we apply the theory about LTS on planetary defense efforts that additionally addresses scientifically observable and predictable phenomena.
The emerging policy model can unveil how various layers of planetary defense endeavor (observation, technology development, technology deployment and operation, triggering deflection method and post-impact recovery) can be perceived as an emerging LTS. We argue that an inclusive global security regime of sensitive dual-use technologies can later eventuate from LTS as the only viable way of its governance given the growing socio-technical complexity and solid science behind it.
The paper is divided into a theoretical and an empirical part. In the former part, the paper shows how the current international relations theory and Science and Technology Studies perceive the role of LTS in global politics.
Based on the theoretical perception, the latter part will show how LTS perspective has potential to stimulate broader international collaboration and later an establishment of international planetary defense regime. Planetary defense, as a significantly growing global effort, is used to demonstrate the principles that might be similarly applied on other security related global challenges dependent on security sensitive dual-use space technologies including the problem of orbital debris.