If you saw the live video of billionaire Jason Isaacman popping his head out of a SpaceX spacecraft (see “Polaris Dawn Mission is a Giant Leap for Private Space Exploration”), your first thought probably wasn’t, “Who can sue if something goes wrong?” But as private spaceflight expands, these questions will have to be addressed.
International space law is a collection of treaties dating back to the Space Race, most importantly the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. One of its key principles is that activities in space are the responsibility of nations alone, even “non-governmental entities” like SpaceX. Because Isaacman and his crew launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, that makes the U.S. government responsible.
But the US government found a way to avoid responsibility. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has strict rules and regulations for commercial air travel, commercial spaceflight has always been treated more loosely, most recently by the Space Act of 2015. The act extended a “learning period” that prohibited the FAA from issuing regulations for astronaut safety on private spaceflight. In other words, any safety concerns Isaacman may have had were resolved between him and SpaceX.
Legal clarity about who is responsible for private astronauts may soon become clear
This learning period is due to end on January 1, 2025, so we may soon see legal clarity on who is responsible for private astronauts, but it’s not the only space law to be careful of. Astronomers are increasingly concerned that the growing number of satellites in orbit could undermine their observations (see “Astronomers Concerned About Launch of Five Super-Bright New Satellites”). Elon Musk’s SpaceX plays a big role here, too, controlling two-thirds of the operational satellites. And for now, there are no regulations preventing Musk from launching as many satellites as he wants.
So what’s next? As policy researcher Thomas Hale puts it (see A Future Generations Manifesto Could Bring About Necessary Change), our political system isn’t designed to solve “long-term problems” and won’t accomplish much more than conquering the final frontier. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, and a revision of the aging Outer Space Treaty to address these more modern issues would be very welcome.
topic:
