Congress Plans Space Tourism Regulation

ackthpt writes "No new venture seems to escape some regulation, as is the case with the budding space tourism industry. As I piloted my personal groundcraft through pea-soup fog this morning (observing about half the others driving with lights off) CNN News mentioned impending regulation and legislation is on the way to govern commercial space transportation. Among concerns are safety of uninvolved public (to ensure boosters or other launch vehicle parts don't land on the unsuspecting public), assessing risk to passengers and level of fitness necessary to withstand the forces and conditions of spaceflight. Addressing such concerns are the FAA's office of commercial space transportation and the Commerce Department's Office of Space Commercialization and of course the US Congress."

Comments

Re:Jurisdiction

[nharmon]

I believe there are treaties against regulating space. Which means Congress should be careful, any overregulation will result in the operations moving out of the country.

Re:And just like that,

[mumblestheclown]

Umm, CFR 14 (Code of Federal Regulations Part 14 - aka the Federal Aviation Regulations) Chapter III has been around for quite a while. Nothing new to see here, folks.

Re:Booster rockets?

[bs_02_06_02]

Booster rockets were mentioned by Burt Rutan for use on his spacecraft in future iterations if they ever wanted to reach higher orbit.

Personally, I think Congress is woefully inept when it comes to "regulating" new technology.

Re:Proposed solution to over-regulation problem

[Politburo]

Last time I checked, he rode a Russian craft. A craft that passed through all of the safety checks the Russian space program has in place. Yes, it comes down to a matter of trust. I, and many others, simply do not trust corporations. They have proven, over hundreds of years, that they are willing to sacrifice human lives for the bottom line. Unacceptable.

Re:Proposed solution to over-regulation problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, he went up in a space craft launched by the Russian Federal Space Agency, so I'd wager a guess that the answer is yes.

Re:And just like that,

[monkeydo]

Article I, Section 8, Clause 1:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;