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Dr Thomas Cheney
Space Governance Scholar
Using legal geography and environmental humanities to better understanding space resources, space exploration, space settlement and more!
thomcheney
Nov 7, 20224 min read
Taking Space War Seriously
Review of: Bleddyn E Bowen Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space (Hurst 2022) Bleddyn Bowen’s Original Sin serves as a...
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thomcheney
Sep 9, 20225 min read
Apolitical is political: The British Empire and the Death of Queen Elizabeth II
The death of a head of state is always a significant event, particularly when they are still in office. The death of Queen Elizabeth II...
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thomcheney
Mar 7, 20222 min read
What I’m Reading: Agonies of Empire
Michael Cox Agonies of Empire: American Power from Clinton to Biden (Bristol UP 2022) https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-agonies-of...
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thomcheney
Feb 24, 20227 min read
In Defence of International Law
I write this on the morning of Thursday 24 February 2022. I have woken up to the news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1] This is a...
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thomcheney
Jan 28, 20228 min read
On Terraforming (Part Two: Is it Legal?)
There’s a long and short answer to the question of whether terraforming is legal, and (un)fortunately one word covers both: maybe. In...
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thomcheney
Jan 21, 20225 min read
On Terraforming (Part One: An Introduction)
This will be the first in a series of posts on this topic, I’ll fully admit that I don’t have a plan but I have at least three more in...
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thomcheney
Jan 19, 20223 min read
New Year, New(ish) Blog
Hello and welcome (or welcome back)! I have been debating relaunching this blog for a good six months now, and getting all wrapped up in...
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thomcheney
Jul 20, 20197 min read
Apollo 11 and Space Law
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, and what better way to celebrate than a look at the space law involved...
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thomcheney
Apr 9, 20194 min read
Space Resources at the UN
Once again, I attended the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) as part of the...
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thomcheney
Jan 7, 20195 min read
Updating Space Law
This post is on a topic that I have been mulling for some time now, but was prompted by the recent editorial in the Financial Times...
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thomcheney
Dec 3, 20183 min read
Discussing Space Mining in Luxembourg
The second meeting of the second phase of The Hague International Space Resources Governance Working Group (hereafter ‘the Working...
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thomcheney
Oct 12, 20184 min read
IAC 2018
The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen during the first week in October was the first time that I had attended an IAC....
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thomcheney
Sep 24, 20184 min read
Brexit and Space, Again…
This is, what I believe the ‘kids’ would call, a ‘hot take’[1] on the European Parliament’s Industry, Research, Telecoms and Energy...
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thomcheney
Aug 24, 20189 min read
United States Space Force: Some Thoughts
Recently US Vice President Mike Pence reaffirmed the Trump Administration’s intention to establish a United States ‘space force’.[1] This...
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thomcheney
Jul 13, 20185 min read
UNISPACE+50
Last month UNISPACE+50[1] was held at the United Nations in Vienna, it was, in part, a commemoration of the first United Nations...
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thomcheney
Jun 19, 20186 min read
SGF2 and Space for Women
The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) was founded in 1999 as a result of the Third United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses...
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thomcheney
Apr 27, 20185 min read
UNCOPUOS Legal Subcommittee 2018
Once again, I recently spent time as part of the SGAC delegation to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) Legal...
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thomcheney
Apr 15, 20186 min read
The Rescue Agreement at 50: The IISL/ECSL Symposium
The first Monday afternoon of the annual session of the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS)...
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thomcheney
Apr 8, 20186 min read
Space Law in Paris
Once again, I spent a few days in March in the heart of Paris listening to people talk about space law and doing some talking about space...
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thomcheney
Feb 12, 20185 min read
Defining ‘Outer Space’
As with a number of space law terms, the space treaties do not provide a definition of outer space. While for the most part a...
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