ABSTRACT
New Era will be characterized by space stations and increased access and activities in space. The fundamental institutional consideration involves the space information station frame itself together with its solar panels, batteries, and related systems designed for station-keeping, tracking, control, and maintenance. There are important reasons to incorporate a regional organization in the Starbase institutional configuration. As the applications modules become operational it would be necessary to incorporate an element of regional management into the institutional configuration so as to insure cooperation between the nations of the region and to insure that norms of equitable use would be maintained. In the context of the Starbase institutional configuration, the Outer Space Treaty prohibition against national appropriation would be inapplicable due to the fact that multinational involvement with the space station would prevent appropriation by any single national government. However, the nonappropriate language of the treaty is subject to interpretation, even if the Starbase institutional configuration was created.
