Outer space and celestial bodies have attracted human attention since the dawn of time. In fact, contemplating the cosmos has the power to inspire humankind’s deepest questions, as the Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi evocatively expressed in his 1831 poem ‘Night Song of a Wandering Shepherd in Asia’; indeed, one of that poem’s most famous verses reads ‘[a]nd when I gaze upon the stars at night, [i]n though I ask myself, [w]hy all these torches bright?’.1
Humanity’s yearning towards the understanding of its very existence has undoubtedly played a significant role in the human attempt to reach and discover the dimension surrounding the Earth. Once the race to space had become more than an aspiration, then, another urgency of human society came into play: the necessity to regulate human relations wherever they take place.
This book stems from the combination of these two elements: on one hand, the author’s fascination for the cosmos, which leads human beings to wonder about their own existence; on the other hand, from the author’s passion for law as a body of provisions aimed – or which should be aimed – at regulating societas’ relations to accord the maximum protection to individual rights.
This work indeed, after legally conceptualising the extra-atmospheric domain at hand, outlines how the current dynamism of this domain – and, in particular of its Earth observation and satellite navigation technologies – positively impact on individual rights, whilst challenging the protection of said rights at the same time.
The passion for this field of law has been constantly stimulated by exciting academic reflections kindled by other legal scholars’ passion for the same subject matter. In particular, this book could not have been concluded without the continuous dialogue with one of the main prominent academic representatives of space law, whose works significantly inspired the author’s speculations on this book’s topics. This is the reason why I am deeply thankful to Professor Dr. Frans von der Dunk, who took time out of his busy agenda to comment on my ideas and hosted this book within the prestigious series ‘Brill Studies in Space Law’.
This research has also significantly been supported by the Department of Economics of the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. I am particularly grateful to the former Deans of said Department, Professor Dr. Monica Billio and Professor
Likewise, a special thank goes to Professor Dr. Marc-Philippe Weller, who gave me the opportunity to fruitfully spend hours researching at the prestigious University of Heidelberg.
I also would like to thank the Brill’s Publishing Director, Marie M. Sheldon, and the Brill’s Associate Editor, Beth Derr, for their continuous assistance during the publication process.
This book has also benefited from the scientific information kindly provided by the US Space Force Communication Office and by the Italian Space Agency Public Relation and Legal Affairs Offices.
I am then particularly grateful to Professor Dr. Danilo Cavapozzi and to the School for International Education of the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, that gave me the opportunity to teach the innovative course ‘The Law of the New Space Economy’ to many students of many different nationalities, who surprised me with their curiosity and interest for space law in general and the topics of this book in particular.
A special mention goes to my friends, and linguistic experts, David Recine and Jake Wyss for their help in meticulously reading the book’s drafts.
I am also particularly thankful to my sister Tamara, who helped me in the manuscript formatting and adaptation to stylistic rules, thus helping me in meeting important deadlines. My heartiest thanks, then, go to my parents and my other siblings Airis and Thomas with whom I used to gaze at stars on summer nights when we were children.
Over and above, this book owes a lot to Dr. Matteo De Nes, who not only provided me with important insights gleaned from his judiciary experience as an Italian judge, but who also patiently and lovingly supported and accompanied me in every single page I wrote.
Of course, any flaws that this book may contain remain my responsibility.
Arianna Vettorel
Venice, May 30, 2023
Frederick Townsend, The Poems of Giacomo Leopardi Translated (G.P. Putnam’s Son, 1887), 105. The Italian original version of the aforementioned verse reads: ‘[e] quando miro in cielo arder le stelle; [d]ico fra me pensando: [a] che tante facelle?’.