132. Federal law on the approval of space activities and the establishment of a space register (space law)

The National Council has decided:

Scope

§ 1. (1) This federal law shall apply to space activities which:

1.		in the territory of Austria,
2.		ships or aircraft registered in Austria, or
3.		by an operator who is an Austrian citizen or a legal person established in Germany,
are carried out.

(2) This federal law shall only apply to private law claims if Austrian law is decisive in accordance with the rules of international private law.

Definitions

§ 2. In the sense of this federal law, unless otherwise indicated

1.		"space activity" means the launch, operation or control of a space object or the operation of an installation for the launch of space objects;
2.		"space object" means the object to be launched or to be launched into space, including its constituent parts;
3.		"operator" means a natural or legal person who carries out or is carrying out space activities.

Permit requirement

§ 3. Space activities are subject to approval by the Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology. Approval requirements according to other regulations than in accordance with this Federal Act remain unaffected.

Prerequisites for approval

§ 4. (1) The authorisation in accordance with § 3 shall be granted if:

1.		the operator has the necessary reliability, performance and expertise to carry out the space activity,
2.		the activity of space is not a direct threat to public order, to the safety of persons and property and to health,
3.		does not run counter to the space activity of Austria's national security, international obligations or foreign policy interests,
4.		arrangements have been made for the prevention of space debris within the meaning of Section 5;
5.		no harmful pollution of outer space or of celestial bodies or harmful changes in the environment is caused by space activity,
6.		the operator complies with the orbital position and frequency allocation requirements of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),
7.		the operator has completed a liability insurance pursuant to paragraph 4, and
8.		the operator has made provision for the scheduled termination of the space activity.

(2) The operator of the space activity shall provide all documents which permit the verification of the requirements of the conditions referred to in paragraph 1.

(3) The permit may contain conditions and conditions. The Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology decides on the application for authorisation without unnecessary delay, but no later than six months after the request has been received.

(4) In order to cover his liability for personal injury or property damage, the operator has a liability insurance covering a minimum insurance sum of EUR 60 000 000 for each insurance case, without the exclusion or time limit of the Post-arrest, complete. The Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology may, with a decision based on the public interest in space activity, take into account the risk and the financial power of the operator, taking into account the risk and the financial power of the operator. Fix the lower insurance sum for the liability insurance to be concluded by the operator or completely exempt the operator from the insurance obligation. In the public interest, there are space activities that serve science, research or education. Insurance is not to be concluded if the Federation itself is the operator of the space activity.

Prevention of space debris

§ 5. The operator shall take precautions to avoid space debris in accordance with the state of the art and taking into account the internationally recognized guidelines for the prevention of space waste. In particular, precautions should be taken to avoid mission arrestings.

Change or termination of space activity

§ 6. (1) The operator is obligated to immediately immediately notify all events which would delay or make impossible the implementation of the space activity approved in accordance with § 4, or which would require an amendment or a revocation of the approval pursuant to § 7 .

(2) The operator shall immediately notify the planned or the end of the space activity of the Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology, which is due to compelling circumstances, and which is due to be compelling. The Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology can give orders to the operator with a view to a safe termination of the space activity.

Revocation and amendment of approval

§ 7. (1) The authorisation shall be revoked if the conditions laid down in § 4 (1) are no longer fulfilled, or if conditions and obligations pursuant to § 4 (3) are not complied with.

(2) The content of the authorisation may also be amended in the cases referred to in paragraph 1.

(3) In the event of withdrawal of the authorisation, the operator may be required to take measures for the temporary continuation or safe termination of the space activity. If the operator does not follow these instructions, the control of the space activity is to be transferred to another operator by the decision of the Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology.

Transfer

§ 8. A change of operator is subject to approval by the Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology. The change of operator shall be approved under the conditions laid down in § 4.

Register

§ 9. (1) The Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology is carrying out a register of space objects.

(2) In this register, space objects shall be entered for which Austria shall be registered in accordance with Art. I of the Convention on the Registration of Objects launched in Space, BGBl. N ° 163/1980, is considered as a starting state.

(3) In addition to Austria as a starting state, other countries shall also be eligible for registration in Austria according to the nature of the registration. II (2) of the Convention on the Registration of Objects Launted into Space.

(4) A space object to be included in this register and its entire staff shall be subject to the jurisdiction and control of Austria during its presence in outer space or on a celestial body.

Registration and information

§ 10. (1) The following information shall be entered in the register:

1.		The name of the starting state or the starting states;
2.		a suitable designation of the space object, its register number and its ITU recording;
3.		the date and territory or place of the starting date;
4.		basic parameters of the orbit, including
a)			Transit time,
b)			railway inclination,
c)			maximum earth remote (apogee),
d)			minimum terrestrial (perigaum);
5.		the general function of the space object;
6.		the manufacturer of the space object;
7.		the owner and operator of the space object;
8.		further information, which the Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology may lay down, to the extent that this is in accordance with the state of the art, in accordance with international legal obligations or relevant decisions of international law Organizations are necessary.

(2) The operator shall forward the information referred to in paragraph 1 to the Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology immediately after the start of the space object.

(3) Likewise, the operator shall immediately communicate any changes relating to the information referred to in paragraph 1.

(4) The information referred to in paragraph 1 (1) (1) to (5) shall be provided by the Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology by the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs to the Secretary-General to the United Nations. This shall apply mutatily to the information referred to in paragraph 3.

Recourse

§ 11. (1) If, on the basis of agreements under international law, the Republic of Austria has replaced an injured party with damage caused by a space activity, the Federal Government shall have recourse to a right of recourse against the operator.

(2) In the event of damage occurring on the surface of the earth or on an aircraft in or on the flight, the right to a refund shall be up to the level of the insured risk, but at least up to the amount of the risk referred to in § 4 (4) Minimum insurance sum .. This restriction does not apply if the operator or his/her people are guilty of a fault or if the operator is against the provisions of § § 3 f. .

Authorisation

§ 12. The Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology (Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology) has a closer look at the following:

1.		conditions for the approval pursuant to § 4 (1);
2.		the documents and technical specifications to be submitted to the application for authorisation pursuant to Article 4 (2);
3.		cost-covering charges, for the procedures to be carried out under this Federal Act;
4.		a lump sum as a substitute for the costs incurred by the Federal Government for verifying the operator's reliability in accordance with Article 4 (1) (1) (1), which is based on the average expenses of the security authorities;
5.		Information required for registration pursuant to § 10 (1) and (3).

Supervision and administration

§ 13. (1) Operators of space activities shall be subject to the supervision of the Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology in matters of this Federal Law.

(2) The operator undertakes to allow the institutions of the supervisory authority, in so far as it is necessary for the proper exercise of supervision, access to all premises and facilities, to grant access to documents, and to: Information to be provided.

(3) The security authorities shall participate in the reliability verification of the operator in accordance with § 4 (1) (1) (1) (1). To the extent that the operator is a legal person, the verification of assurance shall be based on the representative of the person concerned. In the context of the verification of reliability, the security authorities are empowered to use personal data which they have identified in the enforcement of federal or state laws on the person, and the outcome of the review of the Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology.

(4) In the case of paragraph 2, the competent barracks commander shall be informed before entering the military property in the case of paragraph 2 of the relevant military property. . For important military reasons, the holder may refuse entry or may grant access authorisation under conditions of military security.

Criminal provisions

§ 14. If the provisions of this Federal Act or its regulations are contrary to the provisions of this Federal Act, if the action does not constitute a criminal offence within the jurisdiction of the Courts, an administrative surrender shall be carried out and shall be governed by: a fine of up to EUR 100 000. However, those who carry out a space activity without authorisation pursuant to § 3 or § 7 shall be punished with a fine of at least 20 000 euros.

Transitional provision

§ 15. This federal law applies to space activities carried out after its entry into force. For space activities which were commissioned prior to the entry into force of the law, the permit requirement of § § 3 to 5 shall be replaced by a Operator's obligation to notify. The operator has to provide all documents which permit the examination of the condition of the conditions of § 4 para. 1. § 11 shall not apply to space activities commissioned prior to the entry into force of the law.

Linguistic equality

§ 16. In so far as the names used in this Federal Act refer to natural persons, the chosen form shall apply to both sexes. The use of these designations for certain natural persons shall be based on the gender-specific form.

Enforcement

§ 17. (1) The Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology is responsible for the enforcement of this Federal Act.

(2) The Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology is responsible for the enforcement of Section 4 (1) (2) (2) (2) in agreement with the Federal Minister for the Interior.

(3) The Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology (Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology) is in agreement with the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs and the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs with the enforcement of Section 4 (1) (3) (3). Federal Minister of Defense and Sport.

(4) The Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology (Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology) is responsible for the implementation of Section 4 (4) with the Federal Minister for Justice (Federal Minister for Justice).

(5) The Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology, in agreement with the Federal Minister for Finance and the Federal Minister for Justice, shall be responsible for the enforcement of § 11.

(6) The Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology is responsible for the enforcement of § 12 (3) and (4), in agreement with the Federal Minister for Finance.

Fischer

Faymann