The Evolution of Space Radiocommunications Regulations from 1959 to the Present-Day: A Review

The regulation of space radiocommunications was born in 1959 at the Administrative Radio Conference of 1959 (CAR 1959), creating the first space services and allocating the first frequency bands for space radiocommunications. This regulation evolves regularly with the organization every three or four years of a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to revise the radio regulations in the light of technological advances. From 1959 to 2019, the regulation of space radiocommunications has undergone several revisions through the seventeen (17) WRCs organized by the ITU. Several scientific articles have been devoted to WRC decisions but do not describe the evolution of space radiocommunication regulations. The purpose of this paper is to review the historical research of the major evolutions in space radiocommunication regulations from 1959 to the present. The research for this paper was mainly based on the documents in the ITU digital library, which is available online. It is a documentary contribution that generally analyses the impacts of the WRC results on radio regulations and, more specifically, on the regulation of space radiocommunications.