The Woomera Manual on the International Law of Military Space Operations

Military uses in space are rapidly changing and expanding, challenging both states and non-governmental agencies in identifying and applying the governing rules. In the midst of these challenges, states, policymakers, and practitioners must engage with new, real circumstances in space, not merely hypothetical threats or problems. As a contribution to the understudied but crucial field, The Woomera Manual on the International Law of Military Space Activities and Operations is interdisciplinary in nature-- drawing on space law, national security law, technology, international law, and diplomacy.

Thus, The Woomera Manual serves as the first comprehensive examination of the field. In it, all three phases of military space interactions are analyzed (during times of peace, tension or crisis, and armed conflict), with relevance to both the public and private space sectors. Utilizing meticulous research and focusing particularly on state practice, it explores the interaction of different legal regimes, including space law, the UN Charter, other treaty-based regimes, as well as international humanitarian law.

Through an extensive consultation process with state and NGO representatives from across the globe, The Woomera Manual serves as a practical and reliable resource in the emerging field of space law. This book is a critical resource for any entity navigating the increasingly consequential subject of space operations by providing an outline for more predictable and peaceful cooperation.

Jack Beard, University of Nebraska, Dale Stephens, University of Adelaide

Professor Jack Beard is the Director of the Space, Cyber, and National Security Law Program at the University of Nebraska College of Law. His primary fields for teaching and scholarship are public international law and national security law, with a particular emphasis upon space law, cyber capabilities, arms control, and international humanitarian law. He previously served as the Associate Deputy General Counsel (International Affairs) in the Office of the US Secretary of Defense. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, the University of Michigan Law School, and received an L.LM. in International and Comparative Law from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Professor Dale Stephens CSM FAAL is a Professor at the University of Adelaide and a Captain in the Royal Australian Navy Reserve. He has occupied senior legal positions in the Australian Defence Force and undertook numerous operational deployments. He is Director of the Adelaide University Research Unit on Military Law and Ethics. He researches and teaches in the areas of International Law, Space Law, Military Operations Law and Law of Armed Conflict. He is Chair of the SA Red Cross IHL Committee. He was awarded his LL.M and SJD from Harvard Law School and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.