Treaties and policy milestones
The Outer Space Treaty, UNISPACE, COPUOS, the moratoria proposed and rejected: the legal scaffolding of space activity is built one stalled negotiation at a time. The entries here mark the moments when policy moved, or pointedly didn't.
SpaceX geofencing cuts Starlink in Myanmar conflict zones
Enforcement of SpaceX's own registration rules threatens to switch off Starlink across Myanmar's conflict zones, where it had become the main internet link for early-warning systems, schools, ambulances and independent media after the state destroyed local networks.
Planet Labs pulls Iran imagery at US request
In April 2026 Planet Labs confirms it is indefinitely withholding satellite imagery of the Iran war from commercial customers at the US government's request. Maxar and others quietly follow. The Gaza precedent has now been formalised across an entire region.
Space-based nuclear ASAT, declassified
Washington and London declassify intelligence indicating Russian development of a space-based nuclear ASAT capability. The treaty regime built in 1967 to prevent precisely this is, on paper, still in force.
Starlink, switched off
Elon Musk personally disabled Starlink coverage over Crimea to abort a Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian Black Sea Fleet. A war was shaped by a single CEO's decision over a private network.
Cosmos 1408 ASAT
Russia destroys the defunct Cosmos 1408 in a direct-ascent ASAT test. The ISS crew shelters in their docked vehicles. The debris cloud will threaten low-Earth-orbit operations for years.
Brexit and Galileo PRS
The Brexit referendum ignites a quiet dispute over the UK's role in Galileo's encrypted Public Regulated Service. Westminster has paid in by the hundreds of millions; Brussels begins drafting the lockout.
BeiDou regional service
China activates BeiDou-1's regional service. The technical justification is operational; the policy justification, repeated openly in Beijing, is that GPS is operated by an adversary that may switch the lights off.
Selective Availability ended
President Clinton switches off Selective Availability. Civilian GPS accuracy improves tenfold overnight. The button, of course, remains in American hands.
UNISPACE-82 stalemate
Vienna's second UN space conference fails to produce a binding agreement on the non-weaponisation of space. The US and USSR both refuse to give up the option. The stalemate sets the tone for forty years.
Carter's ASAT moratorium
President Carter unilaterally pauses American ASAT development, hoping to bring the Soviets back to arms-control talks. The talks collapse; the moratorium quietly expires and the work resumes.