When one thinks about the space race one’s mind automatically envisions connotations of the cold war; the Soviet Union battling against the USA for technological supremacy in spaceflight capabilities. This was not only a strategic race for national defence reasons but was also seen to be a pivotal stand point of national superiority. This is also the main basis of the majority of space law still in force today. But the reality is there is a space race occurring right now in the present day, not for national supremacy but instead for commercial supremacy no longer is there a search for strategic advantage it is now a race for profit gain.
Along with a brand new space race comes a whole new need for legal protection and guidance. With each new commercial player comes new issues. There are of course many different aspects of this new space race ranging from space tourism to telecommunications systems to outer space habitats companies; this essay will focus on some of the major players in this race and the legal issues surrounding their visions.
Firstly then what has become the most recognisable name in this race and the company which has made the idea of a new space race a mainstream media event , Virgin Galactic. Galactic is Richard Branson’s newest venture and aims to provide a tourism experience in space. As previously stated the vast majority of legislation in this area was created in a time where the idea of space travel from a commercial viewpoint wasn’t even a conceivable thought. Therefore under UK law there is no definition of what would constitute a space tourist. However the American piece of legislation known as the Space Launch Amendments Act (CSLAA) 2004 does offer one; Section 2(b)(9) defines a space tourist or ‘spa...
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...is goes as far to include parts of an original object including paint. The more objects in space then the higher the risk of impacts. This is not to say the only danger is in space damage can occur when space debris falls to earth. Liability for such actions is clearly set out in the liability convention: Article 2 expresses liability to damage to a launching states territory “A launching State shall be absolutely liable to pay compensation for damage caused by its space object” ; Article 3 gives action to damage occurring in space “In the event of damage being caused elsewhere than on the surface of the earth to a space object of one launching State or to persons or property on board such a space object by a space object of another launching State, the latter shall be liable only if the damage is due to its fault or the fault of persons for whom it is responsible.”
At the moment there is a ton of traffic in space and it is only building as more nations join the space faring ranks.14 This is a concern for every nation in space, as space forces are a foundational part to all military operations.15 Space Command is already a Major Command and it includes cyberspace which shows that it is important.16 With new technologies being developed and space travel becoming popular before the first public trip, it is only a matter of time till something happens and tensions rise.17 It is best to not wait for this to happen to make a change, and create the Space Force sooner rather than later.18 It is time just like when the Air Force was created from the Army Air Core as air power was the future, now space power is the future and it is time for the Space Force.19
At the end of WWII in 1945, the USA and the Soviet Union emerged as the world’s superpowers. This was a time of great tension, rivalry and distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was a time of political, diplomatic, military and economic rivalry where both nations wanted to emerge as the world’s new superpower. Hence, the Cold War would be of profound significance in the development of the space race as the space race was a key element in the rivalry of political, economic and social dominance.
The United Space endured a long, competitive, tumultuous, and primed-to-explode relationship with the Soviet Union since its inception. The Space Race was perhaps the greatest spectacle of scientific engineering in the first 5.755 millennia. The U.S. had to reclaim its superior status after the Soviets launched Sputnick I into orbit on October, 4, 1957, and launched Yuri Gagarin into space on April 12, 1961 as the first human in space. Kennedy knew that the American people wanted a victory in the space race, and realized that, being so far away, the United Space could achieve it. Then, on September 12, 1962, President Kennedy gave the “Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort”. This address is best known by this paragraph:
The Space Race is remarkably similar to that of the arms race because of the parallel between the creation of the atomic bomb and the goal of reaching the moon. The United States’ bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki effectively established its place as the technologically superior nation; however, major milestones in space achieved early by the Soviets damaged America’s reputation. In 1957, Soviet scientists shocked the world by successfully launching the Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, beyond the Kármán Line (the boundary of space). This amazing breakthrough “rattled American self-confidence. It cast doubts on America’s vaunted scientific superiority and raised some sobering military questions.” This blow to national pride along with the fear that the Soviets could potentially launch ICBMs from space led to “Rocket fever”. The sudden wave of nationalism and the desire to build a space program worthier to that of the Soviet Union led to the...
There is an ongoing debate on the issue of weaponizing space in order to protect our national space assets and achieve national strategic objectives. This is an issue because of the increase of more space faring nations trying to exploit the benefits of space and other nations also trying to develop capabilities to disrupt other from using it. This background paper will outline the current international laws and policies, our national policies in regard to space, current issues that catalyzed this debate, the benefits and disadvantage of weaponizing space.
On May 25, 1961, just two weeks after the US had successfully got an American into space, John F. Kennedy gave a speech addressing it and exclaimed, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project...will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important...and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish..." (Kruse). The Space Race became an important event for all of humanity during the 20th century because it improved our knowledge of space, improved and inspired new technology, and improved our education. It sparked a mix of both friendly and non friendly competition between the Capitalist United States and the Communist Russia (USSR) from the launch of Sputnik in 1957, all the way to the Apollo-Soyuz project that ended the race in 1975 .
When talking about the current space program, Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, “I got angry with America, because advancing is not just something you do incrementally. You need innovation as well, so that your advances are revolutionary, not merely evolutionary” (Tyson 3). America used to have the top space program in the world. Being first to the moon excited the country and gave everyone a sense of pride and fulfillment. Lately, though, we have been falling behind in space exploration. A successful space program is needed in America, and here’s why: we are losing our grip on the title as the world superpower and a new age of economics and politics is coming faster than we are prepared for. To be prepared for this new age we need the funds,
It is within man’s blood and nature to explore, and space is our next New World. Man’s first achievement in space travel was the launch of the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. For the next decades, space travel was roaring like a rocket, fueled by man’s desire to explore, man’s desire for knowledge, and man’s desire to beat his enemies. However, these impulses have died out as the well of government funding has been diverted to wars and debts, and the interest of the American people has been diverted to wars and debts. Amidst all these issues it is debated as to whether or not space travel is worth the money and the attention of scientists, particularly since humanity faces so many issues on earth currently. However, because of the past inventions, current services, and future benefits, space travel is indeed worth the money and attention of governments and people. It is within our hands to control man’s advancement, and space travel is the next venue to do so.
The National Space Policy has undergone changes throughout its new creation on August 31, 2006, under both the Obama administration and the Bush administration. The act originally was established for overarching national policies that governed the conduct of U.S space activities. President Dwight Eisenhower said “More than by any other imaginative concept, the mind of man is aroused by the thought of exploring the mysteries of outer space. Through such exploration, man hopes to broaden his horizons, add to his knowledge, improve his way of living on Earth.” With that statement, is where our time in space begins.
Space is a big vacuum that would be extremely dangerous depending what and how you are doing. Space has dangerous radiation waves that can harm the human body such as cosmic radiation and and the sun’s powerful rays. The people going into space cannot be the only one that is harmed. Maybe the workers who are helping the project are in some kind of danger too. What this means is that the workers have to built large things that are dangerous to build and could cause injuries or even….
..., including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies since 1967, alongside the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space resolution A/55/558. We strongly believe that the exploration of outer space should be held with the likes of Terra Nullis (“land belonging to no one”) in international law. Thus, it is crucial that we treat space and other celestial bodies as a source for intellectual and scientific findings, not the grounds for militaristic advantage and armed conflict. We must delegate on how to prevent states with current technological capabilities for space exploration from abusing that power in the name of “science”. Furthermore, we should work more actively on allowing developing countries the same possibility for outer space achievements, whether through access to outer space research facilities and/or economic assistance to enhance technologies in this field.
Detractors of public sector space agencies like NASA frequently argue that expending money and resources on sending humans into space is wasteful and irresponsible during shaky economic times. After all, in 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau in recorded 46.2 million people in poverty, the largest number in the 52 years the figure has been published. Putting tax dollars into a shuttle and sending it on an extraplanetary voyage is uneconomical in the eyes of many. However, beneficial developments of the space program can be found in airports, hospitals, laboratories, and homes around the world. Foam created for protecting the outside of a shuttle passing through the harsh atmosphere has found use as a durable, light-weight molding material for artificial limbs. Research and development for NASA'S programs has parented a network of hundreds of communication satellites used around the world on a daily basis and monitored by NASA. Robotic arms used for repairs, maintenance, and hazardous labor in sp...
The European country of Luxembourg, one of the largest satellite manufacturers in the world, has pledged the American asteroid mining companies, such as Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources, that it will invest two hundred and twenty seven million dollars to help grow the entire industry. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg also pursue lines of business to revolve more around exploring space and gathering resources from asteroids. The United States government has also started creating bills concerning this issue. The U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, formally the Asteroids Act, protects the rights of anyone or any company extracting resources from space by allowing whoever took the resources has full property over it since nothing is claimed in space. Many different countries’ leaders around the world are starting to discuss these problems at meetings.
In America, space travel is a controversial issue that many discuss. Although exciting, some people find it unnecessary and a waste of money. There are also many risks associated with space travel and many issues are more important than space travel that should be focused on. There are ethical, diplomatic, and economic issues that need to be considered before making decisions about space exploration.
An Astronomy topic that has always been intriguing is space travel. The ability to rocket into space, look down on Earth, and “…explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before” (IMDB) is an adventure that people dream of experiencing. On July 20, 1969, an estimated six million people watched Neil Armstrong become the first man to walk on the Moon (Nixon Library). Presently, people are paying Virgin Galactic $250,000 to reserve a seat on a spaceship that is expected to tour suborbital space in the near future (Virgin Galactic). Although space travel continues to be of interest, there is also some controversy. Controversies include: the allocation of government resources for space exploration, government verses commercial spacecrafts, and the need to colonize other planets for the survival of humanity. The intrigue and the controversy of space travel are the reasons for this Astronomy conversation.