McGill Institute of Air and Space Law Publications

At the end of May, the United States launched astronauts into space for the first time since 2011. What’s more, for the first time ever, these American astronauts launched in a spacecraft that was commercially built and operated. The feat marks the next chapter in human spaceflight history, and gives renewed vigor to the relatively young (but already-growing) commercial spaceflight industry. Strap in as we launch this post into an exploration of space law.

A drone, more formally known as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), is an aircraft without a human pilot onboard. Drones operate with various degrees of autonomy, either under remote control by a human operator or autonomously by onboard computers. UAVs originated in military applications for missions that were dirty or dangerous. However, drones are used for more than just military needs, and because of that, regulation issues arise.