This volume is about the sweeping technical and regulatory changes which have moulded the regulatory framework of space communications. WARC-92 introduced the LEO systems, WRC-5 confirmed the access of large international corporations to negotiating tables with member state representatives, and WRC-97 saw the first exchanges of rounds between North America and Western Europe in the global quest for new business markets. The forthcoming conferences of the 21st century promise to be challenging. The legal and institutional process, which charts such unprecedented technical revolution, is still primarily in the domain of international law experts. However, several other legal specialities also tackle space-based communications - trade, air navigation, culture, education - in intimate contact with legitimate profit-making concerns and strategic interest considerations.