• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.121-130
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• 2021

Since the 1960s, the United States has developed and implemented policies to encourage commercial space launches. Specifically, national policies have been implementing to expand the role of commercial space actors, which required establishing a process for private space launches. In the early days of the space age, private launches accounted for a small portion of the total launch rate, but, since the 1990s, the proportion has exploded, with private space companies presenting large projects one after another, accounting for more than 50% of the total launch rate. This diversification of space actors and the increase in orbital space objects have led to changes in the perspectives of existing space environmental management processes. During and after the Cold War, when the space age began, civilian actors' actions were limited, and policies limited their actions, too. So they had little impact on government space activities. However, space technology's entry barrier has lowered since, and policies to facilitate commercial space launches have been implemented for a long, and the accumulated amount of space waste over the past 60 years is also threatening the safety, stability, and sustainability of space use. This paper examined how the United States, the most active country in commercial space launches, has managed commercial space launches. The United States has a Space Traffic Management (STM), distributed to departments such as the Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, Department of Transport, NASA, etc. A review of changes in U.S STM management policy could also provide implications for us to manage commercial space launches in Korea.