Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Private Spaceflight Law Revived

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the up-up-and-away dept.

Lord Byron II writes "In an update to this earlier Slashdot story, after the defeat of HR3752, California representative Dana Rohrabacher reintroduced the legislation as HR5382. This new bill has just passed the crucial role call vote necessary to maintain it during the "lame-duck" session. MSNBC has more information on this bill that will enable the private spaceflight industry to (both literally and figuratively) takeoff and from Google News."

4 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Well... by jacksonj04 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And how do you propose that foreign law is useful in space? You can't really work with airspace zones since orbiting craft will cross them in a few minutes, and to be honest you're not going to scramble jets up to those violating the law are you?

    --
    How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
  2. Uh, wouldn't no laws at all be better? by vudufixit · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wouldn't a lack of regulation really allow private spaceflight to "take off?" Say what you want about Ronald Reagan's presidency, he was spot-on with what he said regarding the government's treatment of new (and for that matter, existing) industries: "If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. "

    1. Re:Uh, wouldn't no laws at all be better? by Meredeth · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Absolutely not. I might be persuaded to trust Burt Rutan. But would I trust the company that will run /lease/buy his spaceplane? And what about the other startup companies? There needs to be regulation of this so that we can be confident that there is some accountability for things if they go wrong.

  3. Go right ahead. Just don't crash by Meredeth · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I thought it was a fair compromise for the FAA to only consider crew and passenger safety if it "Has already been shown in real flight to cause problems" It may be hard even with that clause and legal waivers for passengers, to avoid law suits should someone die. It is in the companies best interests for any craft they build to be safe. Any accident in space would likely be fatal and destroy the craft, so no company would allow a safety issue to exist. Can an expert on aviation law say what this proposed limitation of FAA regulation will mean?