Space Tourism: Regulatory Framework of the Private Initiatives and Projects with a Special Interest on RLV regulations
- Paper number
IAC-06-E6.1.08
- Author
Ms. Axelle Cartier, LL.M., Leiden University / Campus The Hague, The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Ms. Ioana Cristoiu, LL.M., Belgium
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The authors certify that this paper was not earlier presented and that sponsorship and attendance of one of them in Valencia to deliver the paper is assured including a powerpoint presentation.
" The airline experience has shown us that it is not just technology that provides safety but the maturity that comes from a high level of flight activity. " Burt Rutan before the US Congress on 20 April 2005.
Independent market research data compiled over the last several years shows that commercial space travel has the potential to be a billion-dollar industry in the next 20 years and the success of RLV (Reusable Launch Vehicles) projects has contributed to this observation.
The 2004 X-Prize winner, Scaled Composites is actually the first company able to finance privately, build and launch a vehicle with a crew of 3 people to an altitude of 100 kilometers. At the same period, Richard Branson announced, that his newly formed Virgin Galactic would order a fleet of spacecraft based on SpaceShipOne’s design, which by the end of this decade will transport tourists into sub-orbital space. Along with these latter initiatives, XCOR, Rocketplane, SpaceX, Armadillo Aerospace and others are working to complete RLVs in the hope of carrying commercial passengers in the near future.
In April 2005, SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan as one of several entrepreneurs in the emerging commercial space market reported before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics in the attempt of the Congress to define what role the government should or should not play in supporting entrepreneurial space progress.
Developers of RLVs in the US, particularly of sub-orbital vehicles have expressed concern regarding the costs of certification which make commercial benefits nearly impossible under the current regulatory system. Public interest has to be served by creating a clear legal, regulatory safety regime and certification for commercial human spaceflight carried on by private companies.
Mass space tourism is a much further step. Yet, the FAA recently issued last December a comprehensive set of proposed rules in order to regulate the future of space tourism, including the modification of the existing financial responsibility requirements to account for the FAA’s new authority for space flight participants and crew, and the issuance of experimental permits. The requirements in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking are designed to provide an acceptable level of safety to the general public, and to notify individuals on board of the risks associated with a launch or reentry.
It seems that these issues are being examined thoroughly at the moment both in the United States and in Europe on the need to develop technical and operational regulations which would be comparable to those already in force in civil aviation for airworthiness and operations.
The authors will accordingly assess the need to develop and change the existing regulations.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-E6.1.08.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.