Registration of Objects Launched Into Outer Space: Perspectives from Russia and Türkiye

1. What is the registration of objects launched into space?

The term "registration of objects launched into space" is defined in the 1976 Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (Registration Convention). According to this agreement, the registration process is regulated in order to ensure the transparency of space activities and the responsibility of states.

When a space object is launched into orbit around the Earth or further into outer space, the "launching State" registers the space object by making an entry in an appropriate registry maintained by it. Each launching State shall inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the establishment of such a registry.

"Launching State" in the context of the Treaty on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, signed in 1976, means:

(i) The State that launches or arranges for the launch of a space object;

(ii) The State from whose territory or facilities the space object is launched.

The term "space object" includes the constituent parts of a space object, as well as its delivery vehicle and its parts.

2. Why was there a need for such an approach?

To answer this question, it is necessary to turn to the historical context. The accelerated development of science and technology has led to the need to create new legal norms.

The Space Age, which began in 1957 with the launch of the Sputnik-1 satellite, was a turning point not only for humanity, but also for the history of law. The new stage posed a number of fundamental legal questions to the international community:

• Who owns space?
• Which state is responsible for accidents in space?
• Who is responsible for assisting astronauts?

These issues have required that space activities be carried out within the framework of the principles of transparency and accountability and have prompted States to develop international norms for the registration of space objects. However, the process of developing a legal approach in this area began long before the entry into force of the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (Registration Convention) in 1976:

• 1932 → Vladimir Mandl in his work "Legal Problems of Space Travel" was the first to introduce the concept of "space law".
• 1957 → With the launch of the Sputnik-1 satellite, the Space Age officially began.
• 1959 → Report No A/4141 of the UN Special Committee emphasized the need for the identification, registration and coordination of space objects.
• 1961 → U.S. President John F. Kennedy proposes the creation of an "International Launch Registry" within the United Nations.
• 1961 → UN General Assembly Resolution 1721 (XVI) B called on states to report to the UN the launch of space objects from the moment they were put into space.
• 1976 → Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Space entered into force. From that moment on, registration became a mandatory norm for states. The 1976 Registration Convention established a two-stage system: National Registry → Each State maintains its own registry. The International Register → Information is transmitted to the UN General Secretariat.

Information to be submitted to the UN:

Each State of registry shall, as soon as practicable, submit to the Secretary-General of the United Nations the following information on each space object on its register:

• The name of the launching State or States;
• The corresponding designation of the space object or its registration number;
• Date and territory or place of launch;
• Basic orbital parameters, including: orbital period, inclination, apogee, perigee;
• General purpose of the space object.

Registration of space objects is not just a bureaucratic procedure, but also a critical mechanism for international security and cooperation:

• Liability: Determines which state is liable in the event of an accident.
• Affiliation: Establishes which state the object belongs to.
• Security: An unspecified object may be perceived by other states as a "threat."
• Transparency: The Register, maintained by the UN General Secretariat, is open to the public.

3. Registration of Space Objects in Türkiye

Türkiye began its journey in the field of space law with the signing of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Subsequently, in the 2000s, Türkiye reaffirmed its commitment to international space norms by becoming a party to several key agreements: the 1968 Agreement on Rescue and Return, the 1972 Liability Convention, the 1976 Registration Convention and the 1979 Moon Treaty.

In Türkiye, the body responsible for space activities is the Turkish Space Agency (TUA), which was established by Presidential Decree No 23. According to Article 4/1-d of this decree, one of the tasks of the TUA is to maintain a register of objects launched into space on behalf of the state within the framework of international agreements, as well as to conduct registration procedures with the United Nations (UN).

However, despite the existence of this obligation, at the moment there is no normative act confirming the creation of a national register.

As a result, Türkiye did not send information to the UN about the creation of a national registry. However, despite the absence of a national registry, in accordance with paragraph 4 of the 1976 Registration Convention, Turkiye continues to regularly send notifications to the UN General Secretariat within a year of the launch of space objects.

Discussions in doctrine and the rapid development of the space industry in Türkiye highlight the need to establish a national registry in the near future. The question of the need to regulate space activities not only by by-laws, but also by more stable and binding laws is also raised.

4. Registration of space objects in Russia: public and private law aspects

Introduction: Why Register Space Objects

Registration of space objects can solve two problems:

• Public law task – domestic and international control over the launch of space objects;
• The private law task is to fix the rights and encumbrances in relation to space objects both before and after their launch.

Current registration procedure in Russia

At present, only public law registration of objects launched into space is carried out in Russia. This is necessary, first of all, for the fulfillment of Russia's international obligations under the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (1975). This convention obliges the acceding states:

• Have a national register of space objects.
• "As soon as practicable" to send to the UN Secretary-General information on the objects to be launched, including their name, purpose, date and place of launch, orbital parameters, etc.
• "As soon as practicable" to report objects that have previously been put into orbit but are no longer in orbit.

The data submitted to the UN is posted on the UNOOSA public online index.

The Domestic Register in Russia, in fact, is necessary to collect the information necessary for transmission to the UN. The State Corporation Roscosmos is responsible for maintaining the Register. The procedure for maintaining the Register is regulated by the Administrative Regulations of Roscosmos (approved by Order No 44 of 22.03.2010).

Key features of maintaining the domestic Register in Russia:

• The Register contains data only on space objects launched into orbit around the Earth and have completed at least one orbit or space objects launched further into outer space. Information on objects that have not yet been launched into outer space is not taken into account in the Register.
• Information from the Register is transferred once a month to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, which, in turn, sends it to the UN Secretary-General.
• The Register does not record any civil rights or encumbrances in relation to space objects.
• As of 2025, private owners of space objects are not obliged to submit the relevant information to Roscosmos, and therefore the information in the Register is incomplete.

From January 1, 2026, significant changes will be made to the registration procedure (Federal Law of 07.07.2025 No 206-FZ). From now on:

• Individuals will be required to submit information about their space objects to Roscosmos.
• Roscosmos will collect information not only about launched objects, but also about objects whose launch is still planned.
• It is assumed that Roscosmos will expand the list of information that the owners of space objects will be required to provide. In particular, information on the technical characteristics of such facilities will have to be entered.

These changes will undoubtedly solve the problem of incompleteness of the existing Register, however, we are still talking about public law, "technical" registration, and not about a full-fledged register of rights and encumbrances to space objects.

Private Law Registration in Russia: "Space Objects = Real Estate"

Against the background of the above, the following fact is surprising: until 2015, space objects were legally recognized as real estate (Article 130 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as amended before 13.07.2015).

By virtue of Article 131 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, rights to real estate (ownership, mortgage, easements) are subject to mandatory state registration in special registers. However, such a register has not been created for space objects, which created a serious legal conflict: according to Russian law, rights to property subject to registration arise from the moment of such registration (Civil Code of the Russian Federation: Article 8 before 2013 and Article 8.1 after 2013,  respectively).

Formally, legally, it turned out that in the absence of a register, rights to space objects in Russia could not exist at all. Of course, in practice, no one interpreted the law in this way: in the absence of a register, the registration of rights was simply not considered mandatory.

Since 13.07.2015, space objects have been excluded from the list of real estate, after which the issue of creating a register of rights to them has become irrelevant. The only artifact of the old approach is the provision of Article 1207 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to it, proprietary rights to space objects are determined by the law of the state where they are registered.

However, should we consider the idea of "space objects = real estate" a complete failure? It seems to the author that it is not.

Of course, the very idea of recognizing space objects as real estate sounds exotic. However, the creation of a register of rights of such objects and the selective application of certain elements of the legal regime of real estate to them (for example, in terms of the rules on purchase and sale and pledge), in my opinion, was the right direction of development.

The reason why the norm on "space real estate" did not work (and a register of rights to them was not created) was that in previous decades, private space projects were not yet so common: most space objects were built and most of the launches were carried out by the state (state-related companies).

It can be said that the idea of registering rights to space objects in Russia was ahead of its time and therefore remained unclaimed.

In recent years, we have seen a reversal of the trend – private space programs are becoming more and more ambitious and successful. This will inevitably lead to the need to regulate more private law relations in this area.

In my opinion, the creation of domestic and international registers of rights and encumbrances on space objects will best guarantee the rights and interests of participants in this actively developing market.

Confirmation of the existing request for the creation of private law registries can be called the adoption of the 2012 Protocol on Space Assets to the Cape Town Convention. The advantages of the Protocol include the fact that it covers a wider range of objects ("space assets"), and the fact of the direct launch of an object into space is not decisive for the purposes of its registration.

The disadvantage of the protocol is that it provides for the registration of not the entire possible range of civil rights, but only a specific type of encumbrances, the so-called international guarantees. But even such a truncated registration option could already significantly expand the possibilities in the field of lending to private space projects.

Unfortunately, to date, the Protocol has not entered into force and the International Registry provided for by it has not been established.

Findings:

• The existing system for registering space objects in Russia as of 2025 is not perfect and has a number of problems:

1. The Register mainly serves the purpose of transmitting mandatory launch information to the UN Secretary-General and contains a minimum amount of information.
2. The law does not establish the obligation of private persons to submit information to the Register, and therefore its data are incomplete.
3. The register does not record rights and encumbrances in relation to space objects.

• From 2026, due to changes in Russian legislation, the situation should change:

1. The law will introduce the obligation of individuals to transfer information about space objects to Roscosmos.
2. The list of information to be transferred will be expanded, but most likely will not include information about rights and encumbrances.

• Until 13.07.2015, space objects in Russia were considered real estate, which meant the mandatory creation of a register of rights to such objects. However, this register was not created, and the norm was not actually in force. This was due, among other things, to the small participation of private individuals in space programs.
• An increasing number of private space programmes are now emerging. This makes it necessary to take into account the rights of private persons to space objects.
• The 2012 Protocol on Space Assets to the Cape Town Convention can be recognized as the first attempt to create an international register of encumbrances (international guarantees) on space assets. This protocol has not yet entered into force, but the rapid development of private cosmonautics will one way or another make it necessary to take into account the rights and encumbrances on space objects.

Regulations:

• Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (1975)
• Protocol To The Convention On International Interests In Mobile Equipment On Matters Specific To Space Assets (2012)
• Civil Code of the Russian Federation (in the current version, as well as in the version in force until 13.07.2015)
• Law of the Russian Federation No. 5663-I of August 20, 1993 "On Space Activities"
• Federal Law "On the State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos" dated 13.07.2015 N 215-FZ
• Federal Law of 07.07.2025 No 206-FZ "On Amendments to Article 19 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Space Activities" and Article 7 of the Federal Law "On the State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos"
• Administrative Regulations of the Federal Space Agency for the Performance of the State Function of Maintaining the Register of Space Objects Launched by the Russian Federation into Outer Space (approved by Order of Roscosmos No 44 of 22.03.2010)

Useful Links:

1. United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). Online Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space. Erişim adresi: https://www.unoosa.org
2. Russian Federation. (2024, Temmuz). An example of a note of the Russian Federation to the UN with registration information. UNOOSA. Erişim adresi: https://www.unoosa.org
3. United Nations. (1975). Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (A/RES/3235(XXIX)). Erişim adresi: https://www.unoosa.org/pdf/gares/ARES_29_3235R.pdf
4. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti. (2018). Türkiye Uzay Ajansı Hakkında Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kararnamesi (No. 23). Erişim adresi: https://mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/19.5.23.pdf
5. Bektaş, S. (2023). Uluslararası Hukukta Uzaya Fırlatılan Araçların Tescili. Ankara: Yetkin Yayınları. ISBN: 9786050516913. Erişim adresi: https://yetkin.com.tr/uluslararasi-hukukta-uzaya-firlatilan-araclarin-tescili-14334
6. Türkiye Uzay Ajansı. Resmî Web Sitesi. Erişim adresi: https://tua.gov.tr/tr