![]() This simple declaration may not be enough to placate critics, however. It states “uter space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.” The Commercial Space Act intuitively seems at odds with this rule, and attempts to sidestep it by stating “ United States does not assert sovereignty or sovereign or exclusive rights or jurisdiction over, or the ownership of, any celestial body.” Modeled after the Antarctic Treaty, which prohibited sovereign claims to the world’s one uninhabited continent, Article II of the Outer Space Treaty prohibits sovereign claims to celestial bodies. It declares “the right of United States citizens to engage in commercial explorations for and commercial recovery of space resources free from harmful interference, in accordance with the international obligations of the United States and subject to authorization and continuing supervision by the Federal Government.”įor years preceding the bill’s passage, questions circulated about the legality of such a provision in light of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. ![]() Section 402 of the act aims to allow private citizens of the United States to own resources extracted from celestial bodies, such as an asteroid or the moon. The reason the Act is lauded by the fledgling asteroid mining industry is the same reason it is so controversial. Garnering investments from entrepreneurs ranging from Google’s Larry Page to film director James Cameron, asteroid mining is quickly revealing its potential to become a trillion dollar industry. While the bill’s genealogy is in itself fascinating, media coverage has largely centered on one controversial provision, Section 402 of Title IV, which establishes a legal infrastructure for asteroid mining. In a rare display of bipartisanship, Congress recently passed the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, which President Obama signed into law on November 25, 2015. As with any rapidly advancing technology, it is important to develop and fine-tune a legal/policy infrastructure to facilitate growth and set clear rules for fledgling companies like SpaceX to preemptively avoid unexpected negative consequences to the greatest extent possible. Given these two significant milestones in one week, one thing is clear: Space is the future, and it is approaching rapidly. Astronaut Scott Kelly returned to earth after a record-setting year-long stint in the International Space Station, and SpaceX attempted their fifth rocket landing, with mixed yet valuable results. ![]() These past couple of weeks have been exciting for those interested in the future of space. ![]()
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