The Space Navigation Code

The Space Navigation Code (SNC) derives from the progressive integration, over the course of the twenty-first century, of principles drawn from maritime, aeronautical and terrestrial space law, and constitutes the principal common body of rules governing navigation in human space. It applies to civil and commercial navigation: civil, commercial and corporate ships, recognized Free Companies, stations and space infrastructure, crews, commanders and operators.

The SNC is not the sole source of the law applicable in space, but it defines the minimum standards necessary for ships, crews and infrastructure belonging to different legal systems to operate within a shared navigation system.

The Code is divided into twelve macro-chapters, themselves broken down into articles, paragraphs, technical regulations and annexes. In common use individual provisions are cited by the number of the chapter and of the article.

SNC 1: General principles and scope

Defines the fundamental principles of space navigation and the relationship between the SNC and other legal systems.

Art. 1.1: Scope of application. The SNC applies to interplanetary and interstellar navigation, to the operations of ships in international space and to the activities carried out within the infrastructure that recognizes its authority.

Art. 1.2: Freedom of navigation. Navigation in space not subject to a specific jurisdiction is free within the limits laid down by international law and by the SNC.

Art. 1.3: Hierarchy of norms. The applicable law normally follows this order: treaties and international law; Space Navigation Code; legislation of the authority with which the ship is registered; applicable local regulations; regulations of the operator or of the MC. Local and corporate regulations may lay down more restrictive requirements, but may not derogate from the fundamental obligations of the SNC.

Art. 1.4: Safeguarding of life. The protection of human life is the overriding principle in the interpretation of the rules relating to emergencies and to the safety of navigation.

Art. 1.5: Cooperation. Ships, stations and authorities are required to cooperate in situations that may constitute a danger to navigation or to the safety of persons.

SNC 2: Ship registration, identification and status

Governs the legal identity of space vessels and determines the authority responsible for their supervision.

Art. 2.1: Registration requirement. Every ship authorized for interplanetary or interstellar navigation must be registered with a recognized authority.

Art. 2.2: Ship register. The registration must state at least: unique identifier; owner; operator; class of the vessel; registering authority; commander in charge; essential operational characteristics; required certifications.

Art. 2.3: Jurisdiction of registration. Where a ship operates in international space, the legislation of the authority with which it is registered normally constitutes the law applicable on board, save for overriding international provisions.

Art. 2.4: Identification. Every ship must be able to communicate its identity by means of standardized systems and to produce, on request, the corresponding documentation.

Art. 2.5: Falsification. The falsification of a ship’s identity, the use of identifiers belonging to other vessels and the intentional alteration of the registers constitute serious violations of the SNC.

Art. 2.6: Unregistered vessels. Navigation without recognized registration does not automatically constitute piracy, but it limits the protections normally deriving from the jurisdiction of registration and may entail restrictions on access to controlled infrastructure.

SNC 3: Command, crew and operational responsibilities

Defines the chain of command and the qualifications required for the exercise of shipboard functions.

Art. 3.1: Authority of the commander. The commander is the highest operational authority on board and is responsible for the safety of the ship, of the crew, of the passengers and of the persons entrusted to their custody.

Art. 3.2: Qualifications. Commanders, officers and personnel employed in critical functions must hold recognized qualifications appropriate to the class of the vessel and to the systems used.

Art. 3.3: Minimum crew. Every ship class provides for a minimum crew composition necessary to ensure the safety of navigation.

Art. 3.4: Succession of command. Every ship must have a formally defined chain of succession for cases of incapacity, death or unavailability of the commander.

Art. 3.5: Emergency powers. In emergency conditions the commander may alter course, draw on operational reserves, restrict access to particular sections, suspend ordinary procedures, order evacuations, order the abandonment of the ship and take any other measure reasonably necessary for the safeguarding of persons and of the vessel.

Art. 3.6: Subsequent accountability. Decisions taken under emergency conditions remain subject to subsequent review and must be recorded where circumstances allow.

SNC 4: Ship safety, certification and compliance

Lays down the minimum standards required for a vessel to be authorized to navigate.

Art. 4.1: Certification. Every ship must maintain valid certifications relating to its class and to the activities in which it is employed.

Art. 4.2: Minimum requirements. Certification includes at least checks relating to: structural integrity; life support; compartmentation; fire-fighting systems; power redundancy; communications; evacuation; navigation; emergency systems; maintenance.

Art. 4.3: Event recording. Ships must maintain systems capable of recording relevant operational events, including navigation data, alarms, critical communications and the activity of the main automatic systems.

Art. 4.4: Maintenance. Systems classified as critical must undergo maintenance at certified intervals and according to certified procedures.

Art. 4.5: Technical inspections. Recognized authorities may subject ships to compliance checks, in particular on the occasion of: renewal of certifications; accidents; structural modifications; reports of non-compliance; entry into particular infrastructure.

Art. 4.6: Technical detention. A ship whose condition is such as to compromise safety may be temporarily detained until the necessary requirements are restored.

Governs the movement of ships and lays down the common rules intended to prevent collisions and interference.

Art. 5.1: Prudent conduct. Every ship must maintain a speed, a distance and a manoeuvring capability compatible with the conditions of the traffic and of the surrounding environment.

Art. 5.2: Right of way. The SNC lays down right-of-way criteria for: converging courses; crossings; overtaking; entry into and departure from orbits; docking manoeuvres; vessels with limited manoeuvring capability.

Art. 5.3: Vessels with reduced manoeuvrability. Ships without propulsion, engaged in rescue operations or affected by significant failures normally have right of way over other vessels.

Art. 5.4: Controlled space. Local authorities may establish: traffic corridors; reserved orbits; holding zones; prohibited areas; approach corridors; separations between civil and military traffic.

Art. 5.5: Traffic authority. Within controlled space ships are required to comply with the instructions of the competent authority, unless doing so would entail an immediate and manifest danger.

Art. 5.6: Docking. Docking, undocking and transfer operations must be authorized and carried out according to the procedures of the infrastructure concerned.

SNC 6: Communications, identification and distress signals

Defines the common standards by which ships and infrastructure communicate during navigation.

Art. 6.1: Operational channels. Ships must be equipped with systems compatible with the main international communication and traffic-control protocols.

Art. 6.2: Automatic identification. Where the situation or the competent authority so requires, a ship must transmit at least: identifier; position; movement vector; class; essential operational status.

Art. 6.3: Emergency channels. Every ship must maintain the capability to receive emergency signals even when it is not using the ordinary communication networks.

Art. 6.4: Priority of communications. Distress signals and SAR communications take precedence over ordinary communications.

Art. 6.5: Distress signal. A request for assistance must, where possible, state: identity of the vessel; position; nature of the emergency; number of persons involved; operational conditions; assistance required.

Art. 6.6: False signal. The intentional transmission of a false distress signal constitutes a serious violation of the SNC.

Governs the installation and the use of the Alcubierre Drive and of the related infrastructure.

Art. 7.1: FTL certification. Every vessel fitted with an Alcubierre Drive must hold a specific certification relating to the propulsion system and to the containment of the Voidmass.

Art. 7.2: Qualified personnel. The activation and the supervision of FTL systems require specifically qualified personnel.

Art. 7.3: Activation zones. The activation of the Alcubierre Drive is prohibited in the areas where significant gravitational masses, infrastructure or traffic make the formation of the field dangerous. Ships must therefore reach the zones authorized for departure by conventional propulsion.

Art. 7.4: Entry and exit. Inhabited systems may establish: FTL corridors; time windows; entry zones; exit zones; traffic separation procedures.

Art. 7.5: Recording of transit. Every FTL transit must be recorded in the on-board systems together with the main operational information.

Art. 7.6: Suspension of operations. The competent authorities may temporarily suspend FTL entry or exit for reasons of traffic, emergency, security or gravitational instability.

Art. 7.7: Unauthorized activation. The activation of an Alcubierre Drive within a prohibited area constitutes one of the most serious violations provided for by the SNC.

SNC 8: Emergencies, Rescue and Salvage

Brings together the rules relating to emergencies, to SAR activities and to the recovery of persons and property.

Art. 8.1: Duty to render assistance. Every commander who receives a request for assistance or becomes aware of persons in danger is required to intervene where it is reasonably possible to do so.

Art. 8.2: Limits and exemptions to the duty to render assistance. The duty to render assistance does not apply where the intervention: (a) would entail a manifestly disproportionate risk for the assisting ship; (b) would compromise a mission formally classified as urgent or as a priority by the competent authority. In such circumstances the commander remains required, where possible, to transmit the request for assistance to the competent authorities, to provide all available information and to take any other measure of assistance that does not entail a deviation incompatible with the assigned mission.

Art. 8.3: SAR coordination. Inhabited systems and the main routes are divided into search-and-rescue regions entrusted to stations, colonies or other designated authorities.

Art. 8.4: Use of civil vessels. Where its own means are unavailable or insufficient, a SAR authority may request the assistance of suitable civil ships present in the region.

Art. 8.5: Rescue. Rescue concerns the safeguarding of persons and may comprise: recovery of crews and passengers; medical assistance; transfer of essential resources; evacuation; recovery of EVA personnel; temporary stabilization of the vessel in difficulty. Rescue is compulsory within the limits of Art. 8.1 and 8.2.

Art. 8.6: Salvage. Salvage concerns the recovery of: ships; cargo; data; equipment; Voidmass; infrastructure; other property. Salvage is not normally compulsory.

Art. 8.7: Priority. The safeguarding of persons always takes priority over the recovery of property.

Art. 8.8: Reimbursement. A ship that carries out a recognized intervention is entitled to reimbursement of the expenses reasonably incurred. The following may be allowed: propellant; Voidmass; consumables; medical treatment; deviation from course; operating time; damage sustained; loss of or delay to contracts.

Art. 8.9: Reward. In addition to reimbursement, a reward may be granted proportionate to the risk faced, to the difficulty of the intervention and to the results obtained.

Art. 8.10: Station guarantee. Where an intervention is coordinated by a station or by another recognized authority, that authority may advance or guarantee the compensation, subsequently recovering its value from the owner, the operator, the insurer or the party liable.

Art. 8.11: Prohibition of conditionality. Compensation may not be made a precondition for the fulfilment of the duty to render assistance.

SNC 9: Stations, orbital ports and infrastructure

Governs the powers of the facilities that control traffic, docking and navigation services.

Art. 9.1: Local authority. Every station may exercise powers of control within the operational space formally assigned to it.

Art. 9.2: Traffic management. Stations may: assign berths; establish corridors; suspend departures; modify approach procedures; declare prohibited areas; impose temporary operational limits.

Art. 9.3: Access. Access to a station may be made conditional on compliance with the technical, health, customs and security requirements laid down by the infrastructure.

Art. 9.4: Emergencies. In the event of an emergency the authority of the station may: suspend traffic; order evacuations; coordinate SAR operations; temporarily requisition docks and infrastructure; restrict access to particular sections.

Art. 9.5: Assistance to ships. The main stations must maintain capabilities adequate to their traffic for: communications; control; technical assistance; emergencies; search and rescue.

Art. 9.6: Local regulations. Stations may apply regulations more restrictive than the SNC, provided that they do not breach its fundamental principles.

SNC 10: Cargo, hazardous materials, quarantine and contamination

Governs the carriage of materials that may present a risk to persons, to infrastructure or to ecosystems.

Art. 10.1: Cargo declaration. Goods belonging to the regulated categories must be declared before docking and in accordance with the prescribed procedures.

Art. 10.2: Hazardous materials. The carriage of hazardous substances requires: adequate containment; documentation; monitoring; emergency procedures; separation from sensitive areas where prescribed.

Art. 10.3: Voidmass. Voidmass belongs to the categories subject to the strictest controls. The regulations specify requirements relating to: transportable quantity; confinement systems; redundancy; monitoring; maintenance; docking; transfer.

Art. 10.4: Biosafety. Ships coming from extraterrestrial biospheres or carrying biological material must comply with specific containment protocols.

Art. 10.5: Duty to declare. The commander is required to report any known or reasonably suspected contamination before entering an inhabited facility.

Art. 10.6: Quarantine. The authorities may impose: quarantine of the ship; isolation of the crew; isolation of the cargo; sterilization; biological analyses; temporary prohibition of docking.

Art. 10.7: Contaminated material. In the cases provided for, the controlled destruction of contaminated samples, goods or materials may be ordered.

Art. 10.8: Concealment. The intentional concealment of a biological hazard or of a hazardous material constitutes a serious violation of the SNC.

SNC 11: Piracy, boarding and powers of inspection

Governs the circumstances in which a ship may be stopped, inspected or boarded against the will of its commander.

Art. 11.1: Protection of registered vessels. A duly registered ship may not be arbitrarily stopped or boarded by another vessel.

Art. 11.2: Right of verification. Recognized authorities may require identification and documentation where there are reasonable grounds to suspect: false registration; piracy; illicit trafficking; serious danger to navigation; quarantine violations; any other case expressly provided for by the SNC.

Art. 11.3: Boarding. Coercive boarding is permitted only to legally empowered authorities and in the circumstances provided for by the Code or by international law.

Art. 11.4: Piracy. The following may constitute acts of piracy: unlawful seizure of ships; violent boarding; kidnapping; appropriation of cargo by violence or threat; intentional attack on navigation infrastructure; violent appropriation of installations; systematic falsification of a ship’s identity for criminal purposes.

Art. 11.5: Free Companies. Membership of a Free Company does not in itself constitute piracy. Vessels belonging to duly registered Free Companies enjoy the same fundamental protections accorded to other civil ships.

Art. 11.6: Resistance to boarding. A ship may refuse a boarding order issued by a party lacking the necessary authority.

SNC 12: Accidents, liability, violations and penalties

Governs the legal consequences of accidents and of violations of the Space Navigation Code.

Art. 12.1: Duty to record. Significant accidents must be recorded and reported to the competent authority according to their severity.

Art. 12.2: Preservation of evidence. On-board logs, navigation data, communications, telemetry and AEGIS recordings must be preserved where they may prove relevant to an investigation.

Art. 12.3: Liability. The following may give rise to liability: collisions; damage to infrastructure; contamination; negligence; loss of cargo; FTL accidents; failure to observe procedures; orders manifestly contrary to the safety rules.

Art. 12.4: Liability of the commander. The commander is answerable for the operational decisions taken under their own authority, unless the event arises from circumstances not reasonably foreseeable or controllable.

Art. 12.5: Liability of the operator. Liability may extend to the owner, to the operator or to the MC where the accident arises from: insufficient maintenance; inadequate equipment; operational pressures incompatible with safety; unqualified crew; systematic violations of procedures.

Art. 12.6: Classification of violations. Infringements are classified according to severity, intent, risk produced and actual consequences.

Art. 12.7: Penalties. Penalties may comprise: warnings; fines; suspension of certifications; detention of the vessel; suspension of the licence; revocation of qualifications; exclusion from routes or infrastructure; civil liability; criminal liability.

Art. 12.8: Major violations. The following are normally regarded as among the most serious violations: unjustified failure to render assistance with fatal consequences; deliberate false request for assistance; FTL activation in a prohibited area; intentional concealment of biological contamination; falsification of a ship’s identity for criminal purposes; piracy; intentional tampering with the records relating to an accident.

The principle of the SNC

The Space Navigation Code arises from the need to ensure that ships belonging to different states, political blocs, corporations and Free Companies can operate according to a minimum set of shared rules.

In deep space the immediate enforcement of the law is not always possible: the Code therefore rests on the principle that certain rules must continue to be observed even when no authority is physically present to impose them.

Ship identification, the safety of navigation, the reliability of distress signals and the duty to render assistance are for this reason among the most widely recognized principles.

Conventions

Alongside the articles of the Code there exists a set of practices, customs and conventions that are regularly observed by interstellar crews.

The 24-Hour Rule

A ship should not reach its destination before 24 hours have elapsed since it came out of warp.

This custom, honoured and respected by almost all the crews of all the Hegemonies, has a strong practical value: 24 hours are the minimum time needed for an approaching vessel to be detected, identified, challenged and, if necessary, stopped; they are also the margin within which navigational dispersion, which makes the exit point predictable only approximately, ceases to constitute a risk to the installations. Presenting oneself with that much notice therefore means giving those at the destination the time to know who is arriving before they arrive.

Some systems have codified the custom in their own port regulations, providing for a fine for the vessels that present themselves before the term. In some cases, however, this measure has produced an unforeseen effect: since the amount is known in advance and loading and unloading operations have an hourly cost, some commanders simply budget for the fine and pay it deliberately, gaining a day on the berth. In the busiest ports the item appears regularly in the expense statements, and nobody regards it as an irregularity.