Hyderabad, Sep 28 (IANS) International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) of the US are a major hurdle in the growth of new space industry actors in the global market, said speakers from emerging space nations at the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2007) here.
They also made a strong case for change in the rules to facilitate cooperation and healthy competition in the global space industry.
The speakers were unanimous that both cooperation and competition were necessary to ensure growth of the space industry, especially among emerging nations and new players.
While China said US policy was the biggest hurdle in growth of new actors, India said there was more risk to non-US players because of ITAR rules, which govern the space industry, among other sectors.
“The US policy is the biggest hurdle and it needs to be changed,” said Hua Changzhi, vice president, China Great Wall Corp. Pointing out that US satellite manufacturers had lost market share in recent years, he remarked, “This is the price paid by US policy”.
“ITAR is the most challenging and difficult regulation we have to contend with. On the issue of licences, there is more risk to non-US players,” said K.R. Sridhara Murthy, executive director, Antrix Corp Ltd, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Ray A. Williamson, research professor, Space Policy Institute at George Washington University in the US, said change in ITAR would make it easier for international space industry to operate. “Unfortunately, given the current political situation in the US, I don’t think ITAR regime will change for the next five to 10 years,” he said.
“For this to change, a political change is required in US Congress, where the law was passed,” he added.
Murthy called for addressing certain issues at the political level, especially with regard to the export policies of advanced countries. “Satellite parts come from different countries and when we export satellites for launch in a third country, we often face bottlenecks,” he said.
He also called for a unified licensing system for space services and complementary ground services like terrestrial services. Murthy underlined the need to change policy and regulations to facilitate easy access to remote sensing data.
He voiced concern over the merger of smaller companies with the big players, saying dominant players would hurt the market and consumers. Another factor affecting the industry was the fact that orbit and spectrum resources were in the hands of government, he added.