Nowadays, more and more nations all over the world have, or plan to have, the capability to develop and launch spacecraft. International cooperation in space research and exploration has the potential to provide significant benefits to all participants. Benefits in the form of monetary efficiency, programmatic and political sustainability, and workforce stability will accrue to those partners who choose to approach space research and exploration as a mutually beneficial endeavor. Furthermore, international cooperation must be explicitly incorporated as an aspect, and goal, of a modern space research and exploration programs to enable coordination prior to the construction of new trends in space education. Such coordination can happen on both the industry, and university levels and allows for education and training the personnel. Outer space must become an arena for international cooperation for global sustainable development, and not a theatre for an arms race, as it began its consideration of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. The greatest example of international cooperation approach is the International Space Station, which was supported by the Russia, United States, the European Space Agency, Canada, and Japan. The time makes correctives in the list of partners and the goals to achieve. The perspectives of partnership of BRICS and African countries have been proved for many years in different areas and the space international cooperation is not an exclusion here. It seems that it is necessary to formalize and develop to higher levels the international cooperation between countries of BRICS and Africa by creation new international organization – BRICS and Africa Space Research and Education Association. All research and education institution with space or other connected profiles of the countries of BRICS and Africa are invited to join this initiative of Russian Academy of Sciences and RUDN University named after Patrice Lumumba and agree on joint memorandum / declaration during in the frame of this session «BRICS and Africa International Space Research and Education Cooperation” regarding the necessity of creation BRICS and Africa Space Research and Education Association in order the initiative should be joint initiative of the participants of the session.

The objective of this session is to display the status of collision risk with space debris, to identify the resulting challenges for space traffic management (STM) and to analyze the proposed solution strategies. During the session the problems of space traffic management and space debris will be highlighted, such as the current level of development of space traffic management technologies, current debris environment and the evolution of spatial collision risk, effectiveness and cost of monitoring and tracking spatial debris, current and future technical solutions for debris management (mitigation policies, collision avoidance, debris removal), current and future market-based and state-based solutions (fees, penalties, sanctions and quotas), governance level with the adoption of internationally agreed standards, improved intergovernmental cooperation and new financing mechanisms for space traffic management. In conclusion, will be analyzed the evolution of the concept of space traffic management.

Space technical policy and law at the international level originated in resolutions of general principles adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in the early 1960’s. These initial statements consisted of a handful of principles considered to be essential for the peaceful movement of mankind into outer space, including activities on the Moon and other celestial bodies. Within a few years these resolutions were incorporated and elaborated upon in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, followed by the Rescue and Return Agreement, the Liability Convention, and the Registration Convention, all of which were drafted by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. A fifth treaty, the Moon Agreement, was drafted by COPUOS in 1979, and since then the COPUOS has adopted “soft law” statements of principles, which are more aspirational than binding international law. Several states have implemented national space laws to govern the activities of their citizens in space. The development of space law has expanded into a wide range of issues but has lagged activities conducted at both the national and international levels. As such effective and comprehensive regulations of technical policy and law are lacking in several areas of endeavor. The participants in this plenary will identify and discuss emerging issues in space technical policy and law that are of critical importance for resolution.