Audit infrastructure /
for orbital AI.

5-year orbital decay rule (2022)

FCC updated space debris standards in 2022 require licensed spacecraft operators to deorbit within 5 years of mission completion. AI-automated orbital lifecycle management decisions must be documented for FCC license compliance.

Spectrum and orbital slot coordination

ITU coordination requires satellite operators to document spectrum use and orbital parameters. AI-assisted coordination decisions affecting registered slot rights must be traceable to protect priority claims.

Galileo · Copernicus AI governance

EU Space Programme AI governance requirements apply to systems using Galileo or Copernicus data for autonomous decisions. European Space Agency and EU Space Programme governance teams are defining audit requirements now.

Critical infrastructure — Annex III scoping

Space infrastructure AI is being scoped for Annex III critical infrastructure classification. Early adoption of compliant audit infrastructure positions operators to satisfy requirements without system-level retrofitting.

Launch license conditions + reentry vehicle documentation

FAA AST issues licenses for commercial launches and reentry vehicles. License conditions include payload documentation, mission safety records, and anomaly reporting. AI systems making autonomous launch abort, trajectory correction, or reentry decisions must be documented for license compliance and post-incident investigation.

Commercial remote sensing license conditions

NOAA Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs licenses commercial imaging satellites. License conditions include enhanced security review for AI-automated target selection, data handling, and export compliance. AI making autonomous collection decisions must produce auditable records for license compliance.

Space Domain Awareness + SSA integration

US Space Force Space Domain Awareness operations track all catalogued objects. Commercial operators contributing AI-generated conjunction assessments or maneuver recommendations to SSA data feeds must document AI decision provenance. Note: classified USSF workloads (SCI-level) require air-gapped deployment incompatible with public-chain anchoring — the same caveat as Tier 4 Military & Defense.

Space Industry Act 2018 + UK launch licensing

UK Space Agency oversees launch licensing under the Space Industry Act 2018. UK CAA regulates range safety for UK launch sites. AI systems in UK-licensed operations require documentation consistent with the Space Industry Regulations 2021. Post-Brexit, UK framework is independent of ESA licensing.

1967 OST + 1972 Liability Convention + 2019 LTS Guidelines

1967 Outer Space Treaty establishes state liability for space activities — including those of commercial operators. 1972 Liability Convention makes launching states absolutely liable for damage caused on Earth or in-orbit by fault. 2019 UN COPUOS Long-term Sustainability Guidelines (21 guidelines) include AI transparency requirements. Iridium-Cosmos 2009 established precedent: orbital collision liability can exceed $1B. Documented AI decision logs are the evidence record when liability disputes arise across state lines.

PRIMITIVE

REQUIREMENT SATISFIED

Every autonomous maneuver decision, collision avoidance command, and payload deployment action logged in an immutable, hash-chained record. Anchored to Base nightly. Third-party verifiable in any jurisdiction without relying on the operator's own systems.

Each spacecraft AI system version has a traceable ERC-721 identity. Software uplinks that change decision-making behavior create documented version events. Operators, regulators, and insurers can establish exact system state at time of any decision.

High-stakes tier for safety-critical maneuver decisions: collision avoidance, orbital insertion, deorbit commands. IPFS-pinned evidence payloads include pre-decision sensor state and planning outputs. $0.10/event justified by per-decision liability exposure.