Space Applications and Policies for the New Century

This book was awarded the Social Sciences Book Award of the International Academy of Astronautics 2001.

This book provides an in-depth account of the contribution of space applications for global development and an assessment of the policies which are required for realizing their enormous potentials. It takes the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III), which took place from 19 to 30 July 1999 in Vienna, as starting point to assess the state and future development of space activities. As UNISPACE I and II, which had been convened in 1968 and 1982, respectively, UNISPACE III was a landmark in discussing all aspects of space utilization and policy as well as regulatory matters on a global scale. The book critically evaluates the results of UNISPACE III and proposes a realistic agenda for developing space activities into an efficient instrument for the solution of the problems and challenges modern society is facing in areas like science and technology development, communication information and resource management, mobility and environmental protection.