One big drawback of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) is that it didn’t precisely define what outer space was. Notably, the treaty also stated that no nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction should ever be placed in space, although it left the door open for conventional weapons, as well as the establishment of military space forces.

The treaty also laid out rules about the Moon and other “celestial bodies,” declaring that they cannot be claimed by anyone sovereign nation. The treaty poetically designated space as “the province of all mankind” and declared that it must remain open to peaceful explorations and use by all equally. The treaty, which by now includes 111 countries as signatories, set out key principles of how Earth’s nations should think about the use of space. Much of what we accept as rules governing space was outlined by the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies), a foundational agreement of international space law which was negotiated and drafted under the auspices of the United Nations. As a new frontier is about to be opened to unbridled exploration, will it be the Wild West all over again, but in space? The Outer Space Treaty of 1967

Valued currently at $350 billion and projected to reach $1 trillion in value in less than two decades, the industry focused on space is about to explode. Besides the 130 official government agencies around the world that are dedicated to space, Space Tech’s 2021 report identified more than 10,000 private tech companies and 5,000 top investors in the space sector besides Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which tends to get the most of the attention. Major organizations and investors wouldn’t be vying to get a piece of the space pie if there wasn’t amazing money to be made.

But when you start looking at the particulars, a more complex answer emerges.

Who owns nasa now 2015