tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31471894476866451632024-02-18T23:26:14.102-08:00PROJECT IONWorking towards the radiation of Life from the Earth out into SpaceAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-4439504971874109052021-09-07T15:25:00.016-07:002021-09-07T23:17:31.210-07:00The Story of Gerard K. O’Neill – Told<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-ASE9DDkhYMGQpPUVSUElKsXOzKXPHJcHHVTVYUpFBBd5qNu5WrLym_5VHSqtv83L3lX1rMHfZLaqMdMTzYho1ouXeImSxbyXGTFRMQCcOubJy_YS1k2HfYdNbDu60Z_nAKQ4EDTks8/s736/adamprofile.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="708" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-ASE9DDkhYMGQpPUVSUElKsXOzKXPHJcHHVTVYUpFBBd5qNu5WrLym_5VHSqtv83L3lX1rMHfZLaqMdMTzYho1ouXeImSxbyXGTFRMQCcOubJy_YS1k2HfYdNbDu60Z_nAKQ4EDTks8/w193-h200/adamprofile.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
review of <a href="https://thehighfrontiermovie.com/" target="_blank">The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill</a></span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">by
Adam D.A. Manning</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>"Life
is extraordinarily rare, extraordinarily precious."</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Professor Gerard K. O’Neill</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>An
account of a remarkable life can be a wonderful gift to so many of us, in
inspiring us and helping us reflect on our own lives. There are few lives more
remarkable than that of Professor Gerard K. O’Neill and at last a full-length
documentary, </span><i><a href="https://thehighfrontiermovie.com/" target="_blank">The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill</a></i><span>, offers
a visual biography of someone whose work has inspired so many of us.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>O’Neill
is most remembered for his powerful conception of space settlement, and
fittingly the opening sequences is of his vision of huge space habitats,
brought to life by some breath-taking graphical work. </span><i>The Untold Story</i><span>
begins by underlining three major themes of his concept; that we will want to
settle space as we are explorers, that whilst this vision seems fantastic it is
feasible with today’s technology and that space settlement of this sort will
not only protect life on Earth but also enhance all our lives.</span><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Space
advocate <a href="https://ricktumlinson.org/" target="_blank">Rick Tumlinson</a> acts as a chronologer, identifying that O’Neill’s
concepts were developed during the height of the Cold War and around or shortly
after the Apollo moon landings. </span><span> </span><span>Indeed,
O’Neill had so much of the right stuff, he came close to walking on the Moon
himself. Throughout </span><i>The Untold Story</i><span>, Tumlinson’s role is to pick out a
timeline for the audience, coloured with some engaging and often rather wry anecdotes.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>The
Untold Story</span></i><span>
is full of wonderful vintage video from earlier decades, including a wealth of clips
of O’Neill presenting his ideas. His appearances on chat shows are especially
enjoyable.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Professor
O’Neill is always a striking figure; handsome, athletic, elegant. For a while
he seemed to have a distinctive style of turtleneck tops and a jacket, which
with his fringed haircut makes him immediately recognisable. It might sound
like an ugly 1970s fashion, but on him it works.</span><span> </span><span>When he speaks, O’Neill is consistently
clear, eloquent, and calm. He is good humoured and pleasant without being
flippant or supercilious, and this is vital when seeking to present such a
fantastic concept in a credible manner. </span><i>The Untold Story</i><span> allows the
audience to appreciate why O’Neill was such an effective communicator and how
he was able to galvanise so much interest and enthusiasm.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPz5m5OpOGjxsDmvGYh104-iMHWpB3Oc8muDfIh_KuLWKr6P7_Uu7hVNcVfnMIKrUCmFeS71j8_2l51dHW5dMO3E68o5JTVB0NGZ0zQbYtDd_XLfJgcLWER0G4asLGpLDZVui5oax3Pvs/s1280/maxresdefault.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPz5m5OpOGjxsDmvGYh104-iMHWpB3Oc8muDfIh_KuLWKr6P7_Uu7hVNcVfnMIKrUCmFeS71j8_2l51dHW5dMO3E68o5JTVB0NGZ0zQbYtDd_XLfJgcLWER0G4asLGpLDZVui5oax3Pvs/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span><br /></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>There
is also real treasure in video of legends such as Isaac Asimov, Nichelle
Nichols, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury.</span><span>
</span><span>Numerous contemporary contributors are included as well and <a href="https://frankwhiteauthor.com/" target="_blank">Frank White</a>,
the author of </span><i>The Overview Effect</i><span>, appropriately enough discusses the
broader aspects of O’Neill’s concept for space settlement, especially, for a
modern audience, how the concept has been linked to environmental protection
and in particular spaced-based solar power. Space solar has long been
associated with O’Neillian (if such a word can be coined) settlements, so video
of Peter Glaser, the originator of the concept, is a special treat.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>The
Untold Story</span></i><span>
though is not just about O’Neill’s High Frontier space settlement concept, and
his beautiful wife Tasha tells us more about him as a man, and his family. A
person’s life is more, much more than their work and in exploring these other
aspects, <i>The Untold Story</i> provides a balanced and touching overview.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Far-fetched?
That’s what we said twenty years ago about walking on the Moon.”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Dan Rather<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>As a
documentary, each part flows smoothly and seamlessly into the next, and the
craft that was put into assembling all the elements must be admired.</span><span> </span><span>This is a work of quality and those who
admire Professor O’Neill will be delighted with the detailed attention with
which it has been made.</span><span> </span><span>Along the way,
there is much to enjoy, including a section on the L5 Society.</span><span> </span><span>One of the key aspects that makes the vision
so exciting is that, as we are regularly told throughout </span><i>The Untold Story</i><span>,
his vision for space settlements required no astonishing breakthroughs in technology;
we can make this amazing vision of the future happen now if we really want too.
That fusion of the extraordinary and the achievable is perhaps the spark that
has given O’Neill’s vision so much power.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>If
there is perhaps an omission, it is in not focussing quite as much on why,
after all, we don’t have huge space habitats in orbit, why, after all, we
didn’t get to L5 by ’95 (1995 that is).</span><span> </span><span>Mention
is made of the failure of the Space Shuttle to live up to expectations, and
whilst this was a major practical reason, there is little said about the
criticism of the concept towards the end of the seventies, that pre-dated the
launch of the first Shuttle mission.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Further,
the modern followers of O’Neill, Gerry’s kids as they are called, are discussed
and especially the richest person in the world, Jeff Bezos, who has explicitly
endorsed The High Frontier as his model for space development. This is taken as
a celebrated resurrection of O’Neill’s work, but no mention is made of its
modern critique, for example, the work of Daniel Deudney in his book </span><i>Dark
Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity</i><span>,
or the general backlash</span></span>, especially from an environmental perspective,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> against what has been termed the “billionaire boys’
club” of Branson, Bezos and Musk and their attempts at private space travel.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_jbFqnx9MWHtCMHHIaPOPotvhLab91-Z-D1Zh31191XElZ0olr33JGA3-VeuVW52cRpS78pQ6iDW0PEwc9Huv15Z_9RKWaJ3tRFXgr-nLaN8hiCrjziJa3CBGhy8-u3-B1ex2c43xv8/s945/oohighfrontier.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="945" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_jbFqnx9MWHtCMHHIaPOPotvhLab91-Z-D1Zh31191XElZ0olr33JGA3-VeuVW52cRpS78pQ6iDW0PEwc9Huv15Z_9RKWaJ3tRFXgr-nLaN8hiCrjziJa3CBGhy8-u3-B1ex2c43xv8/w200-h144/oohighfrontier.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><br /></span></p>At
roughly eighty minutes long, </span><i>The Untold Story</i><span> will already be long
enough for most of the audience, and any more detailed discussion of these
points would take away from the object of the piece, which is a consideration
of O’Neill’s life as a whole, rather than a scrutiny of the implications of
space settlement.</span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More directly relevant to Professor O’Neill’s work are comments from <a href="http://alglobus.net/" target="_blank">Al Globus</a>,
who has written a great deal about space settlements. One of the striking
aspects of O’Neill’s vision was the huge leap that was proposed to build
settlements with hundreds and thousands of people. The lack of any intermediate
steps is an aspect of O’Neill’s plans that provided an easy way to attack its
chances of success. Al Globus’ revisionism proposes smaller space habitats,
placed nearer to Earth, as both achieving important milestones and providing a first
step towards the larger habitats proposed by O’Neill.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Whilst
</span><i>The Untold Story </i><span>might almost imperceptibly cross the line into being
something of a panegyric of Professor O’Neill, these points are easily remedied.
We live in an age of abundant information and if the viewer is interested, it
is not difficult to find out more.</span><span> </span><span>One
of the most powerful conclusions from the contributors is that in retrospect
O’Neill provided us with the finish line; it is up to us to get there, “to
build the road to space”, as Jeff Bezos put it.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Documentaries
of this sort often play their best role by inspiring the viewer to learn more,
and </span><i>The Untold Story</i><span>, a beautifully and lovingly crafted work, is sure
to do that. Professor O'Neill's vision is without doubt the most inspiring depiction of the future, and this film and its examination and celebration of his life will, it is
hoped, mean that vision will be shared with many more, who may become Gerry’s
kids too. </span><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc1Cw39xMLhOwxphkpRhIRmcDhXVSymbKGOk5hymtlKJTIe68K8udyqUWquMELa55y8Pb3Lz5h5N7FY3-RkaLc7LXwyc6TVVZUsbRegPI9j6y6LGG9-KuouJMplIvWBmbP3xV7pZkGvk/s1800/gerry-oneil-and-wife.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc1Cw39xMLhOwxphkpRhIRmcDhXVSymbKGOk5hymtlKJTIe68K8udyqUWquMELa55y8Pb3Lz5h5N7FY3-RkaLc7LXwyc6TVVZUsbRegPI9j6y6LGG9-KuouJMplIvWBmbP3xV7pZkGvk/s320/gerry-oneil-and-wife.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tasha and Gerard O'Neill<br /><br /></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><p></p>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-23088467351740125882019-03-31T04:35:00.003-07:002023-05-26T11:45:10.630-07:00Star Trek and Space Law<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQlUUU03efZ9DRouzy70IQdGptF7zK0hxxKfs-4kRRGgkHNmiPwxEh2M1bZ2Dzu23j4foW3yiD-KtRDnU8hRUrN5_GkQ2bjKxRiqtsVIcl9RUjYABipDGbroH_jKkU7bjY18fn3-sOJWThqrO-VFZC7Z-SJ9u3hPK8hRD53kU-4V5KpYyqJ8896VE/s400/Profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQlUUU03efZ9DRouzy70IQdGptF7zK0hxxKfs-4kRRGgkHNmiPwxEh2M1bZ2Dzu23j4foW3yiD-KtRDnU8hRUrN5_GkQ2bjKxRiqtsVIcl9RUjYABipDGbroH_jKkU7bjY18fn3-sOJWThqrO-VFZC7Z-SJ9u3hPK8hRD53kU-4V5KpYyqJ8896VE/w200-h200/Profile.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />By Adam D.A. Manning</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<i>This article first appeared in the Winter 2016 edition of Astrosociological Insights, the newsletter of the <a href="http://www.astrosociology.org/index.html" target="_blank">Astrosociological Research Institute</a>. You can find this edition, along with others, here: </i><br />
<a href="http://www.astrosociology.org/vlibrary.html#VL_Newsletter"><i>http://www.astrosociology.org/vlibrary.html#VL_Newsletter</i></a><br />
<br />
<i>This paper was presented at The Outer Space Treaty Symposium at the <a href="https://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a> in October 2017.</i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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One of the fascinations of <i>Star Trek</i> is that, right from the start, it portrays a coherent and consistent background to the interstellar adventures of the characters. Their missions are set in the broadly brushed yet intriguing setting of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. One frequent element of the setting that is portrayed is the law and it is surprising that <i>Star Trek</i>, a science fiction TV show for a mainstream audience, includes the law as often as it does. In common with other dramas, <i>Star Trek</i> uses legal principles and disputes to bring characters into conflict or add tension to the plot.<br />
<br />
The most prominent law that <i>Star Trek</i> presents to its audience is the Prime Directive. This guiding principle states that Starfleet officers must not interfere with or alter any alien civilisations below the technological level of interstellar flight, no matter how good their reasons for doing so or well-intentioned they might be. (1)<br />
<br />
The beginnings of the Prime Directive are explored in episodes of <i>Star Trek: Enterprise </i>(“STE”). In <i>Dear Doctor</i>, Captain Archer faces an agonising decision in which the lives of millions are at stake. Eventually he decides that if he interferes, this would contravene their underlying mission of peaceful communication and exploration. They were not travelling through space to “play God”, he decides.<br />
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Later, in terms of Star Trek chronology, episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series (“TOS”) give an idea of how serious the results of breaching the directive can be. For example, <i>Patterns of Force</i> depicts an alien world distorted by the teachings of a Starfleet history professor into becoming an almost exact copy of Nazi Germany, with appropriately catastrophic consequences.<br />
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<br />
In the episode <i>The Omega Glory</i>, Captain Kirk explains that adherence to the Prime Directive is so vital that a Captain should be prepared to sacrifice his own life and possibly even that of his crew to ensure it is upheld. Notoriously though, the principle is more often honoured in the breach than the observance, especially in TOS.<br />
<br />
In Star Trek: The Next Generation (“TNG”) and later <i>Star Trek </i>shows, the Prime Directive is taken more seriously. In <i>Symbiosi</i>s, Captain Picard comments that it is more than just a set of rules, “it is a philosophy”, and a very correct one too.<br />
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The stronger application given to the Prime Directive ensures the heightening of the moral dilemmas the Starfleet crews have to contend with. One of the most shocking examples of the ramifications of the Prime Directive is in the TNG episode <i>Homeward</i>, in which Captain Picard orders that they must do nothing to save an entire civilisation doomed by a planetary atmospheric collapse.<br />
<br />
The Prime Directive is the most fully developed legal principle that <i>Star Trek</i>, in all its TV shows, presents and the episodes in which it features usually depicts a novel twist on its application. This has lead to an intricate series of exceptions and modifications in different situations. In the S<i>tar Trek: Voyager</i> episode <i>Infinite Regress</i>, we are told it has 47 sub-orders.<br />
<br />
It first appeared in TOS and it is interesting to consider its origins during the time TOS was created and broadcast. This was a time of almost revolutionary protest amongst the young in the USA, particularly with regard to the Vietnam War. It is not difficult to conclude that the Prime Directive might have been in part inspired by the hope that non-interference was a more preferable and ethical policy than the unrelenting agony of the Vietnam conflict.<br />
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More broadly, it can also be seen as reflecting underlying American historical concerns, such as an opposition to colonialism and imperialism and unease with interference in foreign affairs generally, such as the isolationism of the USA prior to entry into World War Two.<br />
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Environmentalism as a movement grew substantially in the sixties, in part due to the accelerating space program and its images of the Earth as a fragile, natural world without borders. The Prime Directive can be viewed as having an ecological aspect to it as well. The less technologically advanced cultures that Starfleet discovers and the worlds they inhabit can be taken as natural species in ecosystems that are to be respected and valued for their own sake. These parts of the galaxy are to be left alone and not subjugated, colonised or exploited. Instead they are to be left to develop naturally, albeit allowing for some limited scientific monitoring.<br />
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As a life long <i>Star Trek </i>fan and someone interested in Space Law, it has been exciting to compare the Prime Directive and the parts of Space Law concerning the ownership and exploitation of the rest of the universe beyond Earth. The most important source of Space Law dealing with these matters is the Outer Space Treaty, enacted by the United Nations in 1967. (2)<br />
<br />
What is immediately noticeable here is that TOS, the first <i>Star Trek</i> show, and the Outer Space Treaty were both developed and then came into existence at roughly the same time.<br />
<br />
Like the Antarctica Treaty system that came into force in 1959, the Outer Space Treaty is most importantly a disarmament treaty, outlawing the placing of weapons of mass destruction in outer space. The preamble of the Treaty requires that the exploration of space must be for peaceful purposes, which reminds us of the earnestness of Captain Archer in STE that this be so.<br />
<br />
Article 1 of the Treaty states that the exploration and use of outer space is the province of all mankind. Article 2 develops this further, stating that Outer Space (which includes the Moon and the planets) cannot be subject to national appropriation by a claim of sovereignty, including by means of use or occupation. Article 9 of the Treaty requires that nation states will avoid harmful contamination of the Moon, the planets and other parts of outer space when exploring them.<br />
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These themes of the peaceful exploration of space, the lack of ownership or property rights in space and the requirement to avoid harmful contamination combine to remind the more imaginative Space law student of <i>Star Trek</i>’s Prime Directive. This is strengthened when we go on to consider the Moon Agreement of 1979, which sought to expand on a number of the principles listed in the Outer Space Treaty. (3)<br />
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Articles 2 and 3 of the Moon Agreement reiterate the requirement that all activities in space are to be carried out in the interests of maintaining peace and for using space for peaceful purposes. Article 7 repeats the requirement on state parties to take measures to prevent the disruption of the Moon and other celestial bodies by avoiding the introduction of adverse changes or harmful contamination.<br />
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Interestingly, Article 7 goes onto say that state parties shall report any areas on the Moon or other celestial bodies that are of particular scientific interest. This could lead to the designation of such areas as scientific preserves, which will receive special protective arrangements by the United Nations.<br />
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The prohibition of any claim of sovereignty or ownership found in the Outer Space Treaty is echoed in Article 11 of the Moon Agreement. This important provision begins by stipulating that the Moon (which is defined to mean the Moon and all other celestial bodies and areas in outer space) and its natural resources are “the common heritage of mankind”. This phrase denotes outer space as being a realm that cannot be appropriated by acts of ownership.<br />
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Further provisions of Article 11 list additional elements of the principle of the common heritage of mankind. Paragraph 3 of Article 11 states that neither the surface, the sub-surface nor any part or any of the natural resources in place shall become the property of any state, non-governmental entity or any natural person. So, not only is the ownership of land prohibited, so is the ownership of the physical constituents of that land.<br />
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This total prohibition on any form of ownership is mitigated by the rest of article 11’s delineation of an “international regime” which seeks to moderate and restrain the exploitation of extraterrestrial natural resources to ensure the common heritage principle is applied. The purposes of this regime include ensuring the orderly and safe development of the natural resources of outer space and the expansion of opportunities in their use.<br />
<br />
The final purpose set out for this international regime is that it shall include an equitable sharing by all state parties in the benefits derived from these resources. This is to ensure that the interest and needs of developing countries (which may not be space faring nations) are given special consideration.<br />
<br />
Whilst the Moon Agreement can be viewed as a failed treaty as it has not been ratified by a sufficient number of countries, it provides an explication of the Outer Space Treaty’s initial outline of the common heritage principle to space. The Moon Agreement has been adopted by the United Nations and, arguably, still represents an important source of legal principles. The United Nations remains the body that the world's nation states have accepted has the competence to legislate on matters involving Outer Space from the perspective of international law and, accordingly, as legislation emanating from the UN, the Moon Agreement remains of importance despite the failure to ratify by a sufficient number of states.<br />
<br />
Although some of the details are different, there can be no doubt that there is a thematic similarity between Star Trek’s Prime Directive and Space Law’s common heritage principle. Both ensure that an area of concern shall have special protection and consideration. In <i>Star Trek</i> this area of concern is those parts of the galaxy that are not inhabited by an advanced technological culture capable of warp flight.<br />
<br />
The Outer Space Treaty is of much broader scope. It applies to all areas of the universe beyond the Earth itself. The common theme between the two is that the area of concern is those parts of the universe that are not already occupied by a sufficiently advanced technological society; that is they are a wilderness that must be preserved, a state of nature that must be allowed to continue, by and large.<br />
<br />
One of the most attractive aspects of <i>Star Trek</i>, and perhaps one of the reasons is that its appeal has lasted so long, is the optimistic, hopeful future it portrays. It is possible to suggest that the future depicted in <i>Star Trek</i> remains the most popular depiction of our future, especially when considering hopeful, optimistic visions. The Prime Directive is an element of this, as it suggests a more advanced culture that has learned from historical traumas and seeks to act more wisely, with more restraint so as to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzrOQ32Vb19n6VO33nnOa_zwwUz3hxVtI-FRUn0qOR9Bzp7f0ugpiuxadqXTEauEiKe4qDXC8hPlimXyMlzfA0SBsmZLnmVMQ4eZM9x3Q4Oa0NULeObj4qwJLb2DZ1iAyNcj9f9wiX4Y/s1600/paris.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzrOQ32Vb19n6VO33nnOa_zwwUz3hxVtI-FRUn0qOR9Bzp7f0ugpiuxadqXTEauEiKe4qDXC8hPlimXyMlzfA0SBsmZLnmVMQ4eZM9x3Q4Oa0NULeObj4qwJLb2DZ1iAyNcj9f9wiX4Y/s320/paris.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
The common heritage principle plays a similar role in Space Law. It calls upon citizens to look beyond their local, national interests and consider not only all of humanity at present but the interests of future generations to come.<br />
<br />
The drafters of the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Agreement sought to avoid a scenario referred to by economists as “the tragedy of the commons”. An illustration of this, considered in the nineteenth century, involves an area of common land on which cattle may graze. Each herder, acting rationally, would be inclined to add additional cattle to their herd to gain more from grazing on the land. If all the herders do this, in time the land involved would be over-exploited, to the detriment of all. This point is of general application in a wide range of contexts, including the oceans, the atmosphere, the seabed and so forth.<br />
<br />
It is very far sighted to assign this principle to the realm of outer space. So far, our Solar System (apart from the Earth) is effectively free from exploitation and, in practical terms, an enormous volume. It will take human civilisations centuries to have reached the end point of its exploitation. Yet we are only at the start of this process and no one can correctly predict how quickly technology might advance.<br />
<br />
The central problem for Space Law as it applies to extraterrestrial resources is that it is an unfinished legal regime. As the Moon Agreement was not ratified, the international regime set out in Article 11 was not developed in any more detail or applied in practice. What we need is an equivalent to the Prime Directive’s 47 sub-orders! This will take the implementation of the common heritage principle further forward. An example of how this might proceed in practice can be found with the law relating to the exploration and exploitation of the deep seabed, as administered by the International Seabed Authority.<br />
<br />
My excitement in learning more about Space Law, as a <i>Star Trek</i> fan, has been discovering just how much of the Prime Directive’s farsighted wisdom we already have, bound up in the common heritage principle. As advocates for the settlement of space, we look forward to the greater extension of human society beyond Earth. As this happens, it will be fascinating to see, and even be part of, how the legal regime for Outer Space develops from the initial principles we currently have into a more detailed and working, practical system. </div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">FOOTNOTES</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(1) For a detailed exposition of the Prime Directive, please refer to the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Memory Alpha website’s article, Prime Directive at <a href="http://memory-/">http://memory-</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Prime_Directive">alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Prime_Directive</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(2)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introoute">http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introoute</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://rspacetreaty.html/">rspacetreaty.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(3)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/intromoo">http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/intromoo</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://n-agreement.html/">n-agreement.html</a></span>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-52245732462360364592018-03-02T14:19:00.001-08:002018-03-06T15:34:18.428-08:00Space Law and extraterrestrial resources - a summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxpKewnKU6oBHjYHEwWmBK34uwnsySCceobg4L2VMYNTGY0zyxbG1H0chW3SaIriE_BIG4TCtBARoFzkBh8YCZ2cke6I-ECFiorpwxB5gxFSERhqpk2w15Anm4CakDVDbK6qjfQe2IC0/s1600/profilephoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxpKewnKU6oBHjYHEwWmBK34uwnsySCceobg4L2VMYNTGY0zyxbG1H0chW3SaIriE_BIG4TCtBARoFzkBh8YCZ2cke6I-ECFiorpwxB5gxFSERhqpk2w15Anm4CakDVDbK6qjfQe2IC0/s200/profilephoto.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>by Adam D.A. Manning LLB, LLM, Solicitor</i></div>
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<b>Summary: <i>"</i></b><i>Extraterrestrial resources" includes territory on the Moon or Mars, the soil (or regolith) of the lunar or Martian
surface and asteroids and the minerals that they are comprised of. Space Law's regime concerning the ownership
and exploitation of extraterrestrial resources is unfinished.
As a result, no one - no nation state, individual or company - can legally
own, transfer, lease or sell extraterrestrial resources. </i></div>
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After several years of studying Space Law as part of the
SPACE Project for the <a href="https://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a>, the following are some
conclusions that have been reached regarding the laws concerning the ownership
of extraterrestrial resources. This ownership is an important point when considering the larger
scale settlement of space, as the plans involve the use of extraterrestrial
resources at some point, whether it be bases or settlements on the Moon or Mars
or the use of lunar or asteroid material in building a space habitat.</div>
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<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">The
Outer Space Treaty from 1967 is the most important source of rules
concerning the ownership of extraterrestrial resources. Even if it is replaced or repealed, many of the principles found in it would influence
Space Law for a long time to come.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">One
of its most important provisions is that no nation state can own territory
or land on the Moon or any other celestial object (apart from the Earth)
either by a formal act or by physical occupation.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">If
nation states cannot own territory, neither can private individuals or
companies or other organisations.
Private individuals, companies and so forth derive their legal
rights to own land or territory through that state’s legal system. If the
nation state cannot own land, it cannot grant its citizens or other legal
persons the ability to do so. There is no other source for such rights.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Similarly
the ownership of extraterrestrial resources, for example lunar or Martian
soil or asteroids and the minerals they are composed of, is prohibited at
present by Space Law.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">The
laws relating to the ownership of lunar soil and so forth are set out in
the Moon Agreement of 1979. Article 11 prohibits the ownership of these
resources until such time as an international regime is enacted to
administer the use of extraterrestrial resources.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">This
international regime has yet to be enacted. As a result, the ownership
of physical extraterrestrial resources is prohibited.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Whilst
the Moon Agreement has not been widely ratified, enough countries have
signed it for it to be enacted by the United Nations.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">In
the absence of any other legal rules concerning extraterrestrial
resources, the Moon Agreement is therefore the leading legal authority on
this point. There is no legal
authority giving anyone the right or power to own, transfer or sell
extraterrestrial resources.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">At best, the legal ownership of extraterrestrial
resources is uncertain and questionable. Those investing large sums of
money into projects concerning moon or asteroid mining need to take this
into account – will they have the necessary legal rights to sell or
transfer any materials they obtain on the Moon, Mars or asteroids? They do not have a clear legal basis
for doing so.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">The
issue can be seen as one of title to either the territory that is claimed,
the minerals extracted or products that are derived from extraterrestrial
resources. Space Law does not provide anyone with good title to any of
these things, which has implications for the ownership, transfer or even
sale of such resources. If you
don’t have good title, you do not have anything that you can sell or
transfer.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">New
legislative measures from the USA and Luxembourg cannot breach or go
beyond these principles. Indeed, provisions of the SPACE Act make it clear
that the USA will comply with its international obligations, which must
include the Outer Space Treaty.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">The USA's SPACE Act is a welcome attempt to encourage American space development but it cannot alter the obligations under international law. In this area, it says, in effect, that American Courts can give recognition to American rules about extraterrestrial resources; a purely internal American arrangement. There is no reason that China or Russia, for example, need to give such regulation any recognition.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">An
international regime of some description is needed to administer the
ownership and exploitation of extraterrestrial territory and
resources. The regime relating to
the deep sea bed is directly analogous to outer space, particularly with
regard to the focus on mineral wealth, and is an instructive guide to
thinking about these issues and future legislation.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">The
alternative is to not have any regime for regulating the
ownership and exploitation of extraterrestrial resources. The resources of
space then become a race for whoever can grab them the quickest and hold
onto them. Any prospect of a
rational management of their ownership and exploitation would vanish in
such a free for all, with the most powerful nation states taking the
dominant role.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Practical, imaginary examples help illustrate this point. A company, Lunar Hotels Ltd, builds a hotel on the Moon at great expense. A week later, an armed force from a hostile country arrives and, at gunpoint, takes control of the hotel. Legally, Lunar Hotels Ltd does not have a claim on the land the hotel is built on and so has little legal ability to keep the armed invaders out of the hotel or to claim it back from them afterwards.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">A company called Interspace Developments plc builds a large space habitat in high earth orbit, constructed from materials mined from near earth objects and asteroids. A year or so later, a force from a new, independent organisation based in space called Astral-One, arrives and demands that Interspace Developments plc hand over the space habitat to them. The company has a moral argument (along the lines of "that's not fair") and if suitable weapons are to be found in or on the space habitat, possible military means to respond, but the one thing it doesn't have is a clear legal claim to the space habitat it has created, either in terms of the space or place in orbit that it occupies, or the materials that it is constructed from.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Another practical way to think about all this is to imagine it as interplanetary conveyancing. Many people will be familiar with the process of buying a house or flat and using the services of a lawyer to check the title to the property they are buying, to make sure it is worth the large sum of money they are paying. In these terms, if someone wanted to pay £1M to buy a large area of land on the Moon, or to buy a mountain on the Moon (that is the physical substance rather than the territory), a reasonable lawyer would have to advise them that as a result of the difficult legal position at the moment, with the consequently weak ability to claim or protect what you had purported to purchase, it would be a very risky investment.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Finally, a company called Mars 4 U Inc sets up business by taking small rocks from the Martian surface to sell to people on Earth and, as a sideline, can grind the rocks up to make statuettes for sale as well. Legally, it has no ability to own or transfer these products. Their customers do not obtain good title to either the rocks or the statuettes in these transactions. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal">There is a question of enforcement of these rules but questions about enforcement bring us back to how uncertain and doubtful the current legal regime concerning extraterrestrial resources is.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">If space development is to proceed, these questions must be resolved, one way or another, to ensure those investing large amounts of money have adequate protection for that investment. It really is a question of the rule of law - is this going to apply to the ownership or exploitation of extraterrestrial resources, or not?</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">If plans to build bases and habitats on the Moon, Mars or in space go ahead, it would be helpful to those efforts to have a rational legal regime that administers issues of ownership and exploitation so that those investing the considerable time and money involved would be entitled to legal protection. While there are plans for such space development, there is still time to move Space Law in this area on so that a useful regime can be put into place to support these efforts.</li>
</ol>
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-43871633757626094762017-11-09T23:43:00.001-08:002017-11-09T23:43:38.399-08:00A Space Law Symposium at the British Interplanetary Society<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngnOMCobnJhI-DZeH7PyBh9CE-N0SOSzlXA3W4wWpFv8d9Z5uceKqbQLmZdMAQsIDSYR2KePRu5HG7fU-I1zUimlzY2JRq_peyShnDAj07wCrhKj25EyEmFhxYBCkbzSNYK70HJ0sZOA/s1600/newprofileshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="668" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngnOMCobnJhI-DZeH7PyBh9CE-N0SOSzlXA3W4wWpFv8d9Z5uceKqbQLmZdMAQsIDSYR2KePRu5HG7fU-I1zUimlzY2JRq_peyShnDAj07wCrhKj25EyEmFhxYBCkbzSNYK70HJ0sZOA/s200/newprofileshot.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<i>by Adam D.A. Manning</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
A recent Tuesday in October 2017 saw the headquarters of the <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a> in London play host to a one day symposium on Space Law, celebrating not only <a href="http://www.worldspaceweek.org/" target="_blank">World Space Week</a> but also the 50th anniversary of the inception of the <a href="http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html" target="_blank">Outer Space Treaty</a> (OST), the most important source of legislation concerning space.<br />
<br />
In many ways a new departure for the Society, the world's oldest space advocacy organisation, the day focused on different aspects of the OST. There was the usual warm welcome from the Society, including from the President of the Society, <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/the-british-interplanetary-society/history/mark-hempsell" target="_blank">Mark Hempsell</a> and it was wonderful to see the Society's headquarters so full, especially on a weekday.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.spaceflight-uk.com/" target="_blank">Jerry Stone FBIS</a>, space presenter and a Fellow of the Society, commenced proceedings with an introduction followed by a discussion of the Outer Space Treaty in the context of <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-space" target="_blank">the SPACE Project</a>, an ongoing study into space settlement that forms one of the Society's ongoing activities. His theme was to consider whether the OST assists efforts to develop space, or whether it hinders such aims. He noted that the construction of large space habitats, as proposed by Dr Gerard O'Neill in his studies from the 1970s, was likely to require the utilisation of large amounts of extraterrestrial resources and so questions about the legality of such efforts were important in considering how such plans might proceed.<br />
<br />
The following speaker was Danny Greenland LLB LLM, a legal researcher with the <a href="https://www.thensc-uk.com/" target="_blank">Northern Space Consortium</a>, who provided a detailed examination of the international regime concerning the deep seabed. Danny's analysis provided insights into how the legal regime for outer space may develop, due to the similarities in environmental challenges and possible rewards from mineral mining on the seabed and in outer space. His talk described the history of pragmatic compromise that the deep seabed's regime had undergone, balancing the concept of the common heritage of mankind with the aspirations for economic development of minerals to be found on the ocean floor.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3LKDrScTn2HT50-ZWFeSpIhJIJ55c9viXxcR2P5yXHncTgGtA9SuNL8ldcz2fY5J73K2Dla6PkcKk9YixY0qYqBMQS7ggxwnreIxFbUwqd_UvQxMxH_vKk_qip7GEOMhQxVESKeF6GE/s1600/DannyGreenland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3LKDrScTn2HT50-ZWFeSpIhJIJ55c9viXxcR2P5yXHncTgGtA9SuNL8ldcz2fY5J73K2Dla6PkcKk9YixY0qYqBMQS7ggxwnreIxFbUwqd_UvQxMxH_vKk_qip7GEOMhQxVESKeF6GE/s320/DannyGreenland.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Danny Greenland at BIS</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next was <a href="https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/about/staff/law/chris_newman" target="_blank">Dr Chris Newman</a>, a leading expert in Space Law, from the University of Sunderland. His fascinating talk was entitled, "<i>Embedding sustainability: The future of the Outer Space Treaty?</i>" and looked at how effective (or otherwise) the OST was in tackling the problem of space debris, which threatens to seriously hamper the development of space. The mitigation of space debris has been an area of interest within the BIS. His conclusion was that this was not a scenario that the drafters of the OST were contemplating when it was drawn up but it was possible to take action nevertheless.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2L9fA_s9zv3_571wjjRqxMSG6eWbn78hTwAz8v3yNifBwJ4s4YBmuT4BcNPItWJGiGL3cyh39FnIHeqkaaeIKTh_h_azHA1I0-uV9rTtXqiUr_3grb3JUlUSuktAPJYYoR7qYhfbYGEk/s1600/chrisnewman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2L9fA_s9zv3_571wjjRqxMSG6eWbn78hTwAz8v3yNifBwJ4s4YBmuT4BcNPItWJGiGL3cyh39FnIHeqkaaeIKTh_h_azHA1I0-uV9rTtXqiUr_3grb3JUlUSuktAPJYYoR7qYhfbYGEk/s320/chrisnewman.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dr Chris Newman</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The symposium than had a break for lunch and we enjoyed some rather nice catering at BIS. At lunch, I had a look at the Russian launch simulator, which had been used for educational purposes during a recent school visit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydZsofp1eq5oUWFXoMP4V6qCur2uM7ZZJwkPR0g6Gn4G8Ks5xRXuS1IIc-UxymvlsxlquSaJHRjSKDeH9IxoygV-gffpD0FvrJiKgl7aHIcKAfRwKjBfPLeZMm4_JL7F28URFdFRwQH8/s1600/russian+simulator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydZsofp1eq5oUWFXoMP4V6qCur2uM7ZZJwkPR0g6Gn4G8Ks5xRXuS1IIc-UxymvlsxlquSaJHRjSKDeH9IxoygV-gffpD0FvrJiKgl7aHIcKAfRwKjBfPLeZMm4_JL7F28URFdFRwQH8/s320/russian+simulator.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After some excellent catering courtesy of BIS, we had the benefit of hearing from <a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mukesh-bhatt-7581065" target="_blank">Mukesh Bhatt</a>, a researcher and guest lecturer from the School of Law, Birkbeck College. Mukesh's presentation concerned how effective the OST and the way it is implemented is at dealing with challenges or disputes; an examination of the limits of UN Space Law. One point outlined in the talk was that whilst the Moon Agreement, which followed the OST, might not have been widely ratified, it has still been ratified by enough countries to have entered into force. As such, it was an effective Treaty from the United Nations' perspective.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxiYcX3xSWWsJ7uyRExZGA195ZQOs0EZKPRZLyKUZh8P1rmBhyYX0PwZiZItGg4O8gdqR5hREIska2-YLWAgHVc1y4DvQqO2YpLnrhF8JnRtFfCrERp3tZnVEcyBvaBzcuUK-cuRg8v8/s1600/mukeshbhatt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxiYcX3xSWWsJ7uyRExZGA195ZQOs0EZKPRZLyKUZh8P1rmBhyYX0PwZiZItGg4O8gdqR5hREIska2-YLWAgHVc1y4DvQqO2YpLnrhF8JnRtFfCrERp3tZnVEcyBvaBzcuUK-cuRg8v8/s320/mukeshbhatt.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mukesh Bhatt</i></td></tr>
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Following Mukesh's excellent exposition on a fascinating subject, it was my turn. My talk was entitled "<i>The Common Heritage of Mankind meets </i>Star Trek." I sought to compare Space Law's common heritage of mankind concept with the, perhaps more familiar, Prime Directive from <i>Star Trek</i>. Having given a number of talks on Space Law on these topics, I have gained the impression that many view the common heritage of mankind concept, and the OST and Moon Agreement more broadly, as unnecessary hindrances to the commercial development of space. By using the Prime Directive as an analogy, I sought to persuade the audience that in fact these principles can be the foundation for an enlightened, rational society that seeks to expand into space.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhNoIoG3BbCgsqIWQ_t3ZEbosKwm-QwUzT915ymwwY8Xv_nMcdFUTs8Vtp-VVxLzEasAAnLn8qzy2SmIrzThjAbiaFh5FOZCyrLhP5yP6ddIBhilPUquTccLofQ5g3-OBv07V0QXxji4/s1600/adammanning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhNoIoG3BbCgsqIWQ_t3ZEbosKwm-QwUzT915ymwwY8Xv_nMcdFUTs8Vtp-VVxLzEasAAnLn8qzy2SmIrzThjAbiaFh5FOZCyrLhP5yP6ddIBhilPUquTccLofQ5g3-OBv07V0QXxji4/s320/adammanning.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Adam Manning</i></td></tr>
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We were lucky enough to have a really fascinating talk to finish the day from Raphael Costa, <a href="http://www.idest-paris.org/" target="_blank">Executive Secretary of the French Institute for Space and Telecommunications Law</a>, who have travelled from Paris for the day, on how the OST might be different if it was drafted today. Interestingly, Raphael noted the many oddities about the Treaty and how in some respects, its drafting was inconsistent with the normal structures of Treaties. It would be written rather differently if drawn up in 2017.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0WhIIgf00iFfBv9KCuTltQ_tGNdaBszh8FBLjKeo72ndX-JTqR0PrOQAz_NF-mL7ixaIVx2ozhXc7TPG162LSz6Q3VbpVS1y-TjvtNWO2j9lJyu0QgOFMtKfRUzq8GgqijEbNsaA54E/s1600/raphael.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="522" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0WhIIgf00iFfBv9KCuTltQ_tGNdaBszh8FBLjKeo72ndX-JTqR0PrOQAz_NF-mL7ixaIVx2ozhXc7TPG162LSz6Q3VbpVS1y-TjvtNWO2j9lJyu0QgOFMtKfRUzq8GgqijEbNsaA54E/s400/raphael.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Raphael Costa</i></td></tr>
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The day was highly enjoyable and passed very quickly. As is often the case, there was a lot of energetic discussion about the concepts begin examined and the audience was able to ask as many questions of the speakers as they wished.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhCGCgvPhaL5CstY60uGP-6rqjCHfE_hah3QwWPIgu0GACAr_uaSvjX5Uk0tQT2oatJVAU3PLtrVA7vYDw_VRNqslZ7ymgXM-5EApPGeXhgKeNymUD8Vky4cqHka91amo3LXYlStNCTU/s1600/BISgroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhCGCgvPhaL5CstY60uGP-6rqjCHfE_hah3QwWPIgu0GACAr_uaSvjX5Uk0tQT2oatJVAU3PLtrVA7vYDw_VRNqslZ7ymgXM-5EApPGeXhgKeNymUD8Vky4cqHka91amo3LXYlStNCTU/s320/BISgroup.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The speakers</i></td></tr>
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The BIS welcome extended to a sojourn to a local hostelry after what had been a fascinating day. It was impressive to listen to a number of knowledgeable speakers who went into great detail concerning their subjects. I would like to thank the BIS for giving me the opportunity to give another talk at their headquarters, which, given the BIS' long and illustrious history, is always an honour.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DZ6zuQrbjGU7ETnlDzaxM4Z-WlKVClCxUrqX1WTQpgfM9nTh9Pxt6yo86CBpOqfQvTmR3pUrMCfU_cdvvfm-f1Cz5O8rwiPiYHy6irxtKtvVqJMmIqtgD4Wxj3glPyzcvSZD_DlN904/s1600/BISHQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DZ6zuQrbjGU7ETnlDzaxM4Z-WlKVClCxUrqX1WTQpgfM9nTh9Pxt6yo86CBpOqfQvTmR3pUrMCfU_cdvvfm-f1Cz5O8rwiPiYHy6irxtKtvVqJMmIqtgD4Wxj3glPyzcvSZD_DlN904/s320/BISHQ.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The BIS headquarters in Vauxhall, London</i></td></tr>
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<br />Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-44040632089943013142017-03-14T13:11:00.000-07:002017-09-29T04:33:52.067-07:00Star Trek and Space Law<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEBMAXXVkolbTCcRJDNJAuL71RZ0MLinJGbMiv-E1vmy0Q3iU4S1eSSTzexEihOhtRQNCQHbMS3q7JJKicg3adChp5oyk1vUZbBgGBKwvOJx-f0nH0rbbJoZv76X79AAYJe-NnapY0uQ/s1600/adam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEBMAXXVkolbTCcRJDNJAuL71RZ0MLinJGbMiv-E1vmy0Q3iU4S1eSSTzexEihOhtRQNCQHbMS3q7JJKicg3adChp5oyk1vUZbBgGBKwvOJx-f0nH0rbbJoZv76X79AAYJe-NnapY0uQ/s200/adam.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<i>Star Trek</i> recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and to mark the occasion, <i>Astrosociological Insights</i> have published an issue containing articles linked to that famous science fiction television series.<br />
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My research into Space Law, in particular the concept of the Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM), indicated to me that there is a definite thematic similarity to the well known Prime Directive, the familiar regulation from Star Fleet that seems to only be observed in the breach. As a result, I've written an article that looks at these links and I was delighted that this was included in the <i>Star Trek</i> themed edition of <i>Astrosociological Insights</i>, which is available here:<br />
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<a href="http://www.astrosociology.org/Library/PDF/Newsletters/ARI-Newsletter_Vol-5_Iss-2_12-2016.pdf">http://www.astrosociology.org/Library/PDF/Newsletters/ARI-Newsletter_Vol-5_Iss-2_12-2016.pdf</a><br />
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My article starts on page 8. If you have any comments about this, do let me know. Comparing the two has proved to be a useful and humorous way of understanding the CHM, which is not always the most direct of principles to grasp.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgZuhyFmBB8XcNa8o0wbI4ZXiNaHlghmXPmrTt0lJ_Dig-othcilU4gVzdZyYwhcNiP1fhBEx5lIvzfZ-cljKRTiPEK6TLwsWnFEPOecjVQ0KUtvx5DtCwxdIo54-L6ZyVaCP180OSs4/s1600/StarTrek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgZuhyFmBB8XcNa8o0wbI4ZXiNaHlghmXPmrTt0lJ_Dig-othcilU4gVzdZyYwhcNiP1fhBEx5lIvzfZ-cljKRTiPEK6TLwsWnFEPOecjVQ0KUtvx5DtCwxdIo54-L6ZyVaCP180OSs4/s400/StarTrek.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-90888625860949529422016-07-26T08:10:00.002-07:002016-07-28T05:59:50.799-07:00Luna and the Law of Property<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWX_ahyphenhyphenZRfRijS0j-6PLbheR_QrM0dsQI-vPBGnkIm2z1Ro6AxpG47jb_xBDVJ0rDN4kh-u3CvFlSG2rGmSfbcqtgRsSP9Pn0AU50gQ-VDdZN4eflylhr2uuQKxVaM-7Nu5ntNmJ82JA/s1600/AdamManning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWX_ahyphenhyphenZRfRijS0j-6PLbheR_QrM0dsQI-vPBGnkIm2z1Ro6AxpG47jb_xBDVJ0rDN4kh-u3CvFlSG2rGmSfbcqtgRsSP9Pn0AU50gQ-VDdZN4eflylhr2uuQKxVaM-7Nu5ntNmJ82JA/s200/AdamManning.jpg" width="99" /></a></div>
The attention that Space Law has been receiving shows no sign of diminishing. I was recently pointed to an excellent article looking at this, entitled <i><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265964616300194" target="_blank">"The peaks of eternal light: A near-term property issue on the moon"</a></i>, written by by Martin Elvis, Tony Milligan and Alanna Krolikowski. I ought to mention that Tony is a friend of mine through the British Interplanetary Society and I greatly admire his profound and learned approach to these issues. <br />
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I thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in these issues. The article describes regions of Luna, the Moon, that constantly, or almost constantly, receive permanent sunlight due to the relatively small tilt of our sibling world compared to the ecliptic. These points have been given the poetic and entirely suitable name of the Peaks of Eternal Light and they have the potential to be valuable territories as an installation on them, near the north and south lunar poles, will receive solar energy effectively all the time. <br />
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I was further intrigued by their reference to the Outer Space Treaty ("OST"). As many will know, the OST makes it clear that nation states cannot appropriate, or own, territories on Luna or elsewhere in outer space. According to Article II of the OST, nation states cannot make any claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by another means. It is immediately clear to a practising lawyer that this is a total prohibition of any claim to own part of the surface of Luna. Prohibiting a claim of sovereignty by use or occupation means that landing on or building on part of the surface does not entitle you to make a claim for ownership just because of those facts. In English law, for example, this would prevent a claim for "squatters' rights" based on factual occupation of land.<br />
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The authors go on to refer to Art XII of the OST, which states that:<br />
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<i>"All stations, installations, equipment and space vehicles on the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be open to representatives of other States Parties to the Treaty on a basis of reciprocity. Such representatives shall give reasonable advance notice of a projected visit, in order that appropriate consultations may be held and that maximum precautions may be taken to assure safety and to avoid interference with normal operations in the facility to be visited."</i><br />
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The authors seek to use this provision to propose that a "loophole" or ambiguity can be implied that weakens or even avoids the total prohibition on any claim to sovereignty set out in Art II. In brief, the requirement that those seeking entry to a base need to give notice before doing so and cannot interfere with the installation's normal operations suggests to the authors that the owner of a base has some form of right or claim to the area their base occupies as a result. So, for example, this might be used by the creators of a site at the Peaks of Eternal Light to suggest that they have some form of property right to the valuable territory that they occupy.<br />
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The OST seeks to encourage the exploration and use of Luna and other parts of outer space, as is made clear by Art I, as long as this for peaceful purposes. Nothing in the OST seeks to prevent or discourage peaceful installations, bases or buildings on Luna or elsewhere. Indeed, Art XII itself envisages just this sort of activity. One of the themes of the OST is that exploration and use of Luna, for example, is to be on the basis of peaceful co-operation between the nation states and their citizens.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YdPaJNhspNZrJ48arhQ4jC-OXD0apHNAeOXkax-oUgZ7JbuTpi3rzFF8LJWDkKgszXwVfFAHzrFp3EzHXbg9l4AWlkv2wj7Z4IRDxIrBgPJnD77YAOK2lMCgkRnoEMtO8G-QY65VeDU/s1600/moon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YdPaJNhspNZrJ48arhQ4jC-OXD0apHNAeOXkax-oUgZ7JbuTpi3rzFF8LJWDkKgszXwVfFAHzrFp3EzHXbg9l4AWlkv2wj7Z4IRDxIrBgPJnD77YAOK2lMCgkRnoEMtO8G-QY65VeDU/s320/moon.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna</td></tr>
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When I read Art XII, as a practising lawyer it immediately reminded me of clauses in land law and especially those relating to landlord and tenant. You may build on the Moon, it suggests, but anyone else can at any time request permission to enter your building. From time to time I have given talks on the Outer Space Treaty and I always refer to Art XII as a practical demonstration of the total lack of any property rights of anyone building on Luna. Think of your home being subject to a law that anyone else, no matter who, could at any time demand entry to your home. I mention this in the context of how unattractive the position is for those seeking to commence an industrial or commercial operation on Luna, involving perhaps mining its resources. In real terms, your ability to keep such an operation secretive to some degree is restricted by this point.<br />
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Art XII reminds me of typical provisions in a lease particularly because of the important qualification given to this right of entry, which the authors seek to suggest might provide the basis for "quasi-property" rights. Such rights of entry are almost always, except in emergencies, subject to reasonable advanced notice and this is generally for the purposes of expediency, so as to avoid unnecessary difficulties and awkwardness. Turning up seemingly at random and demanding instant entry would be an easy way to create hostility and argument and so unsurprisingly such clauses require the person seeking entry to give reasonable advance notice. <br />
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Art XII adds to this requirement for advanced notice by stating that this is so consultations may take place and precautions may be taken to assure safety and to avoid interference in normal operations. These additional qualifications further illustrate this point; they are there so that the occupier of a base (for example) must allow entry to other parties if they so require but there ability to do so must be managed in such a way as to avoid confrontation and inconvenience. It seems the length of notice that is reasonable can vary according to circumstances. For example, a complex and potentially dangerous industrial process at a base could lead to a longer period of notice prior to entry than say an innocuous astronomical station. Far from giving the occupier of a base any sort of claim to property rights, these qualifications on the right to entry merely seek to ensure that it is exercised in a way that helps to fulfil the broader aims of the OST in peaceful co-operation between space explorers and users.<br />
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Ultimately, the occupiers of a base on the surface of Luna would not be able to rely on these provisions to prevent someone else entering their premises completely as at some point, no matter what the circumstances, a reasonable period of notice will expire. <br />
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The requirement to give notice before entry does not, by itself, qualify or weaken the total prohibition of any claim to sovereignty set out in Art II OST. Against Art II's total prohibition on property rights of any sort, the requirement to give notice in my view simply fails to provide a firm, or indeed any, basis for any claim or right that can be founded in law.<br />
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Of course in reality the creator of such an installation or base may assert their claim in practical terms based purely on their occupation and this might have a great deal of force to it, especially while the surface of Luna remains largely unclaimed. Yet this would not be a legal argument. There would be no basis for such a claim in the OST or Space Law more generally. Any attempt to maintain occupancy or control of an area would have to involve the use of non-legal means, which would presumably start with simply refusing to allow anyone else any form of access.<br />
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The authors seek to partially ground their submissions in a broader jurisprudential theory often associated with Ronald Dworkin. If there are seeming lacunae in the law, this theory suggests, a Judge can utilise broader social and cultural norms to consider the point in more detail. If a Judge has perfect wisdom based on a perfect understanding of all cultural, social and other norms, such an imaginary champion being referred to as Judge Hercules, they will undoubtedly arrive at the perfect answer to any legal problem even if the primary legislation being considered seems ambiguous. In reality, actual human Judges may not arrive at the same answer as Judge Hercules, or even each other (as is often the case), but there is at least the principle that there is a perfect answer to each legal question.<br />
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This attractive and comforting theory has some practical underpinning in the noted principle that Judges (at least in the jurisdiction of England and Wales) are expected to arrive at a judgement on a legal dispute even if the law or evidence or both have unsatisfactory elements, such as gaps in the primary law being considered.<br />
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Yet this does not mean that Judge Hercules can therefore be expected to make the law up in the absence of legislation. A Judge seeking to resolve a dispute about access to the Peaks of Eternal Light would have to, at some point, note that the regime of the OST only goes so far and then stops. From the perspective of someone seeking to exercise property rights over the surface of Luna , the law states that they do not have any and the Judge cannot go any further than that.<br />
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The authors speculate that the Chinese government could commence a mission that would conclude with a site being installed at one of the Peaks of Eternal Light and might then seek to rely on the OST in the way they propose to exclude anyone else from this territory. <br />
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To bring matters to a head, let us say I form a company registered in the jurisdiction of England and Wales and I then obtain the appropriate license from the UK government in accordance with the Outer Space Act 1986 to carry out operations in outer space. I decide that this company is to land a human mission near the Peaks of Eternal Light and then seek access to the Chinese base in accordance with Art XII.<br />
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If, for whatever reason, the Chinese government refute my request after a reasonable period of notice has expirerd, I would have to communicate my displeasure to them and, to take matters further, I might have to apply through the Chinese Courts for some form of a declaration and injunction that the Chinese government must comply with its international obligations under the OST. If this was unsuccessful my ultimate recourse would be through the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at the United Nations. Whatever the course or outcome of these proceedings, it is important to note that at no time has the Chinese government, the UK government or my company gained any sort of ownership or rights over extraterrestrial territory. In this example, the Chinese government have not gained any legal rights; they have simply refused to allow me to exercise my legal right of entry.<br />
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What is the way forward, given that the OST and the current Space Law regime more generally does not provide any particular mechanism for considering these issues? In looking into this, I have been researching the law of the sea bed. Here, the International Seabed Authority ("ISA") manages the exploration and exploitation of the deep sea bed. This was created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, also known as the Law of the Sea Convention. <br />
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The exploitation of the mineral resources in polymetallic nodules to be found on the sea bed is a key area that is managed by ISA. ISA licenses operatives from convention countries to carry out these sorts of operations and emphasis is placed on environmental mitigation. ISA has its own enterprise organisation to carry out such exploitation as well, although in practice it has yet to carry out substantial work in this area. Though the ISA and its activities are certainly not free from controversy, it does provide a practical example of how the exploitation of Luna, along with outer space more generally, might proceed.<br />
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Given the complexities in this area, the authors of the article are keen to qualify their conclusions about the law and those interested in this field will value this detailed examination. If the resources of space are to be utilised, it will be interesting to see how the legal regime develops to manage these activities.<br />
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Those interested in reading about these issues further may be interested in this article from the Space Review on a legal regime for the Peaks of Eternal Light: <a href="http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2423/1">http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2423/1</a><br />
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<br />Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-54767318052972460312016-05-26T12:42:00.001-07:002016-05-26T13:07:15.811-07:00Astrosociological Insights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was delighted to be asked to contribute to <i>Astrosociological Insights</i>, the newsletter of the <a href="http://www.astrosociology.org/" target="_blank">Astrosociological Research Institute</a>, recently. The link at the bottom of this article takes you to a pdf edition of their latest newsletter and my article on Space Law starts on page eight. The research carried out for this article was part of my work for the study group for the <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a> on space settlement.<br />
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Astrosociology is according to the ARI a relatively new field, and is defined by them as the study of astrosocial phenomena (i.e., the social, cultural, and behavioural patterns related to outer space). The study of Space Law clearly has a home within this area of research. <br />
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This particular edition of <i>Astrosociological Insights </i>focusses on space settlement and my article is entitled, <i>"Competing Future Visions for the Human Expansion into Space as Regularized by Space Law". </i>It is an examination of how recent American legislation, and the attention given to it, compares to the background of Space Law concerned with the exploitation of extraterrestrial resources. This edition of the newsletter commences with an article from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_D._Zamka" target="_blank">George Zamka</a>, NASA astronaut and veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, on a return to the Moon and also includes an article from the wonderful <a href="http://space.alglobus.net/" target="_blank">Al Globus</a> on the minimum size needed for an early space habitat. With other articles on the role of politics and the arts in space settlement, I am very flattered to be included.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An excerpt</i></td></tr>
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To read this newsletter please use this link: <a href="http://www.astrosociology.org/library/pdf/newsletters/ARI-Newsletter_Vol-5_iss-1_05-2016.pdf">http://www.astrosociology.org/library/pdf/newsletters/ARI-Newsletter_Vol-5_iss-1_05-2016.pdf</a><br />
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<br />Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-20939426789336998062016-05-12T12:14:00.003-07:002016-05-12T12:14:50.296-07:00A visit to the British Interplanetary SocietyA video scrapbook of bits and pieces from a visit to the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) in early 2016. My visit was to take part in a conference for the SPACE Project, a study group within BIS re-examining the space colonies studies from the 1970s.<br />
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For more information about the British Interplanetary Society, please look at <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/">http://www.bis-space.com/</a><br />
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<br />Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-26533477289162195642016-05-02T08:19:00.000-07:002016-05-02T08:37:28.061-07:00Island Zero Alpha - an animationIsland Zero Alpha is an original space habitat design from the study group on space settlement within the <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a>. Assembled and stationed in low Earth orbit, it is 115 metres in radius. The ring of habitat modules rotates at 2 rpm and this produces a pseudo-gravity of around 0.5g on the floor of the modules. <br />
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The idea behind Island Zero Alpha is to move up to larger habitats than the International Space Station and to learn more about the effects of pseudo-gravity on humans in space. The station is expected to have a crew of around fifteen to twenty.<br />
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The spiral tunnels leading from the central hub to the habitat modules on the ring are to ensure a graduated transfer from 0g to 0.5g in the habitat modules. The ring running round the habitat is primarily for emergency access. Please watch in HD if possible.<br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-45138333580870213732016-02-20T07:48:00.001-08:002016-02-20T07:48:42.954-08:00Space Law Roundtable - the SPACE Act 2015I was delighted to take part recently in a discussion about Space Law as it applies to space resources and settlement for the <a href="http://thisorbitallife.com/podcast/" target="_blank">Voices from L5</a> podcast.<br />
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With me were <a href="http://www.spacelaw.olemiss.edu/about/faculty-staff/blount.html" target="_blank">PJ Blount</a> and <a href="http://www.sunderland.ac.uk/faculties/bl/staff/chris-newman/" target="_blank">Christopher Newman</a>, both authorities on the legal aspects of space development. We discussed the recent American legislation referred to as the SPACE Act 2015 and then talked more speculatively about the possible nature of a constitution for a space habitat.<br />
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Voices from L5 is brought to you with the assistance of the <a href="http://www.nss.org/" target="_blank">National Space Society</a>.<br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-67090255198238743302016-01-30T02:49:00.001-08:002016-01-30T03:13:03.953-08:00Space Station Zero Alpha - the computer game!As a bit of fun, I've been undertaking a wonderful online course on computer science called CS 50. The first project involves creating a program in Scratch, a language designed for beginners in computer programming that does a lot of the work for you.<br />
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Looking for inspiration, I decided to create an updated version of an old computer game I created back in the eighties, during the home computer craze, called Space Station Alpha. This was a game written in under 16K for the ZX Spectrum. <br />
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This new version is a lot faster and I really wish I had these sorts of facilities when I was a teenager! I've used the graphics from current work on my space settlement film. It's a very simple game. The player is in charge of the defences of Space Station Zero Alpha, the last space station left to protect Earth (or Sol III as it's called in the game). You have to blast the invading Centaurian Space Destroyers before they either destroy your station or dock with it and invade.<br />
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As this is a revamp of a home computer game that was previously written in Sinclair BASIC, you of course have to use keys to play the game, in this case as follows:<br />
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Q - Up<br />
A - Down<br />
I - Left<br />
P - Right<br />
O - FIRE!<br />
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If your damage goes over 100% or the Centaurian Space Destroyer reaches the docking port, you've lost. You have to survive twenty waves of invaders to win. Good luck and let's hope you save Sol III!<br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-87256669792227785002015-11-15T06:10:00.000-08:002015-12-10T08:13:47.617-08:00The Case for Space Solar Power <b>By John C. Mankins</b><br />
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<i>Book review by Adam Manning</i><br />
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Space Solar Power (SSP) has always seemed a tantalisingly attractive concept; harnessing some of the enormous and endless power of the Sun that comes our way and putting it to work here at home. The basic structure consists of large solar power stations in space that receive energy directly from the sun’s rays. This energy is then converted into a form that can be transmitted through the Earth’s atmosphere to receiving stations on the ground and then distributed for use across the power grid. If implemented, SSP could have enormous implications for energy use, for technology and for our geo-political relationships that are driven by the powerful influence of our petroleum based economy.<br />
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<i>The Case for Space Solar Power</i> is a timely update on SSP with a detailed review of its origin and development, a new proposal for possible implementation and a look at its overall feasibility. The author had a long career with NASA, including ten years as the manager of its Advanced Concept Studies, and is recognised as a leading figure in SSP.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John C. Mankins</td></tr>
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In the 1970s SSP became linked closely with large scale plans for space settlement put forward by Dr Gerard O’Neill and one of the themes of this book is that this wasn't, in retrospect, helpful to the development of SSP research. The initial conceptions of SSP were very large scale projects, with references to stations, usually positioned in geostationary orbit, several miles in diameter and involving hundreds of launches to establish the necessary hardware in space.<br />
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When plans of this scale were produced in the late 1970s, their enormity made them an immediate target for rejection and even ridicule. In his book, Mankins puts this forward as one of the reasons why SSP has never been taken as seriously as it should be, despite its obvious logical attractiveness. This history of almost scorn has perhaps held back research on the technical issues that need examining if a practical project is to be implemented. <br />
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<i>The Case for Space Solar Power</i> puts forward a detailed account of a new proposal for SSP – the SPS – ALPHA. A beautiful design, it takes older suggestions and updates them for the 21st century. Using a high degree of modularity and the latest in robotics, it is still a very large scale project but the use of modern engineering techniques reduces the eye watering costs of earlier proposals. It is the discussion of the costs involved that takes us to the heart of the SSP issue. It is widely accepted that SSP does not involve any major technological breakthroughs in the same way that fusion power does. Yet the argument has always centred on whether, given the enormous costs of the full implementing SSP, would it be worth it. Would the huge expenditure involved ever be paid for by the sale of the energy SSP would produce?<br />
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Mankins admirably takes into account not just the SSP system itself but also analyses the costs of the huge number of launches that such a system would require. Launch capacity is an important issue for SSP and <i>The Case for Space Solar Power</i> considers future reusable launch vehicles and the role they would play in transferring the SPS – ALPHA system to GEO.<br />
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I’m not going to reveal the author’s overall conclusions – please read the book for that! The book reinforced my view that more basic research into wireless power transmission needs to be carried out as this will help make the answers to these issues clearer and <i>The Case for Space Solar Power</i> does provide details of recent studies on this, especially those carried out in Japan.<br />
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In the original plans from the 1970s, SSP and the huge space habitats proposed by Dr O’Neill formed an almost parasitical relationship with each other – the one justifying the existence of the other. The more modern view set out in <i>The Case for Space Solar Power</i> suggests this is no longer valid and SSP can be independent of any large scale space settlement, although it is likely that a much more substantial orbital infrastructure will have to arise as a result of the construction of a project the size of SPS - ALPHA. If proponents of O’Neillian scale space habitats are justifying them with the benefits of SSP, Mankins’ book does not provide a clear foundation for that justification. Nevertheless, Mankins’ vision is of a much greater extension of human activity into space, with SSP playing an important role. <br />
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A particularly useful element of the book is a consideration of how SSP might fit with other means of energy production, especially fitting with renewable energy and the markets that might have a use for it. This more practical approach is to be welcomed after the long period of only viewing it in global energy terms.<br />
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On a more global scale though Mankins notes how SSP could play an important role in a system of energy production that seeks to mitigate global climate change. If SSP could fulfil this function, there is an urgent need to investigate it in more detail with a view to its practical implementation.<br />
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This readable and well set out book is to be greatly welcomed as an update of the concept and is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the subject.<br />
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You can find it on Amazon (in both hardback and kindle) here: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Case-Space-Solar-Power/dp/099133700X/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1447596309&sr=1-1" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Case-Space-Solar-Power/dp/099133700X/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1447596309&sr=1-1 </a><br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-43699971551819067732015-09-06T07:38:00.001-07:002015-09-06T07:39:32.718-07:00Bolas Space Station - an animationA short animation depicting a small space station in Low Earth Orbit. The station features a centrifuge, in this case a rotating arm, and on the end of each arm is a habitat module. The arm rotates at 2.5 revolutions per minute and the artificial gravity produced by this rotation on the floor of each of the modules is around 0.35g, roughly the same as the surface gravity of Mars.<br />
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Also seen is the Epsilon reusable spaceplane, in its unmanned configuration, to resupply the station.<br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-52777153588913969512015-07-10T03:51:00.000-07:002015-07-12T02:50:19.153-07:00Reflections on Space Based Solar Power<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>by Adam Manning</i></div>
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Generating power for Earth from the enormous and constant
outpouring of energy in space from the Sun has long been a dream. Solar energy from space has been looked on
longingly as a way of benignly solving our world’s ever increasing demand for
power and moving civilization on from its dependence on fossil fuels.</div>
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These ideas received a great deal of attention in the 1970s
with studies by <a href="http://ssi.org/the-life-of-gerard-k-oneill/" target="_blank">Dr Gerard O’Neill</a> and his colleagues when they set out plans
for the colonisation of space. Solar
energy from space envisages satellites in Earth orbit collecting energy from
the Sun using solar panels. This energy
is then converted into a different form, normally microwave transmission or
laser beam, and this is transmitted directly down to a receiving station on the
surface of the Earth.</div>
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Proponents of the idea point to a number of advantages
compared to obtaining solar energy from conventional solar panels on the
surface of Earth. The Sun’s rays are weakened as they pass through Earth’s atmosphere on their way to the surface
whereas in space, there is no atmosphere and so no reduction of this sort
applies. Solar energy here on Earth is subject to the vagaries of the weather
as when it is cloudy the Sun’s rays provide less energy. In space, the Sun’s energy is constant as
there are no clouds. Of course when it
is night at a particular point on the Earth’s surface, there is no solar energy
at all! By contrast, if the orbit of
the satellite is high enough it can receive and transmit energy derived from
the Sun nearly continuously. This
avoids the need for batteries to store energy that normal solar energy entails
so that a continuous supply of energy can be produced for consumers. A typical space based solar power operation
of this sort is expected to provide about the same power as an average nuclear
power station. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Space Based Solar Power Satellite demonstration experiment</td></tr>
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Space based solar energy has been seen as a way to cost
effectively solve the energy crisis of the late twentieth century and more
recently as a way to provide our civilization with the huge amount of energy it
will need in the future without compromising efforts to tackle global climate
change. These advantages and hopes for
solar energy from space help explain why it is an idea that is revived from
time to time with new studies and proposals.</div>
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Plans for Space Based Solar Power have also played another
role. At the time of the original studies on space habitats in the 1970s, Dr
Gerard O’Neill and his colleagues put forward plans for Space Solar Power
Satellites as the main reason, at least initially, for the construction of the
huge space habitats he and his colleagues proposed. The main purpose for the construction of the <a href="http://www.nss.org/settlement/MikeCombs/SCTHF.html" target="_blank">Island One space habitat</a>, with a population of 10,000 or so, was to provide living space for the
large number of workers that would be needed to construct the satellites.</div>
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This was due to the breathtaking size of these solar power
satellites, which would have dwarfed, for example, the International Space
Station. To ensure that the solar
panels on the satellites could obtain enough energy from sunlight to provide
the power needed to justify the whole operation, the satellites were expected
to be at least a kilometre across and often much larger than that. In the 1970s, there was no other way to realistically
envisage an installation of this size being constructed without large numbers
of workers being involved. They would
need a place to live while this was being carried out in space and so a large
space habitat was required. The initial
space habitats and solar power satellites took on an almost circular logic, the
one justifying the existence of the other. </div>
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It is now roughly forty years since the studies by Dr
O’Neill and his colleagues and so the question arises, what has changed since?
Sadly, space habitats of the size of Island One have yet to be built and there
have never been any experiments concerning space based solar power for Earth in
space, let alone the construction of the sizeable satellites that an
operational energy scheme would necessitate. Why not?</div>
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In reviewing the history of solar power from space, one of
the most striking developments has been the much wider use of solar energy on
the ground accompanied by a parallel drop in its costs. Solar energy was relatively undeveloped
in the 1970s and forty years of development have made it far more widespread
and mainstream. Solar panels on the
roofs of residential homes are now a familiar sight and large solar farms have
been constructed to harness more of the Sun’s energy.</div>
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One of the key points made in the 1970s studies is that
solar energy from space would ultimately be cheap compared to existing energy
sources including the then rocketing price of oil, particularly once the
enormous infrastructure to generate it was in place. Studies of energy prices in the mid 2010s suggest that this is
not the case at present. Oil prices are
not as prohibitively expensive as originally foreseen and the cost of solar
energy on the ground is much lower than expected. These points already counter an argument for solar power from
space based on higher energy costs on Earth compared to solar energy from
space. If solar energy from space is
not markedly cheaper, why bother?</div>
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On this point on costs efficiency it is also important to
consider launch costs. The 1970s studies looked forward to launch costs
reducing steadily in the future and placed reliance on the space shuttle
programme (with descendant programmes developing shuttle technologies) as a major
part of this progression. Launch costs
have not reduced as substantially as hoped or planned and sending equipment or
personnel into space is still very expensive.
This is important as a mature space based solar power operation will
require a very large number of launches to place the equipment necessary for
construction in orbit. This expenditure
is exacerbated by the need to ensure the satellite is ultimately functional at
geostationary orbit, some 36,000 km from Earth’s surface. </div>
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When these huge launch costs are taken into account, solar
power from space looks even less cost effective. The point has been made that these costs could be reduced by
using materials in space, such as on the Moon’s surface or from near Earth
asteroids. This suggestion may have
merit but it has to be borne in mind that techniques and technologies for the
utilisation of such resources have yet to be fully developed and put into
practice and this in itself will be very costly. </div>
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Construction costs might, theoretically, be cheaper now than
envisaged in the 1970s due to advances in robotics. Speculatively, it is possible to imagine that robotics can be
used to quicken and cheapen construction of the space solar satellites rather
than the armies of workers proposed in the original studies. As with using
space resources to construct the satellites though this point has a large
degree of uncertainty and developing such advanced robotic techniques will
entail a great deal of costs by itself.
It also abandons one of the main justifications for the construction of
the Island One space habitat.</div>
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A further point to be considered is the effectiveness of the
transmission of power from a space solar power satellite to a receiving station
on Earth. These is perhaps less
experimental evidence on this as might be hoped considering the four decades
that have elapsed from the original studies.
<a href="http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2012/03/space-based-solar-power/" target="_blank">The clearest guidance</a> on this point suggests that the microwave
transmission from a solar power satellite would transmit around three times as
much power to its receiving station on the Earth’s surface than an equivalently
sized bank of conventional photovoltaic solar panels would be able to generate,
assuming they were placed on a part of the Earth’s surface that is suitable for
solar energy production. </div>
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The practical problem that proponents of space based solar
power face is that it would be much cheaper, easier and quicker to build a
solar power facility (or farm as they are referred to) with conventional ground
based panels that was three times the size of this receiving station. The same amount of energy would then be
produced for much less cost, technical difficulty and time. This saving on cost would allow the use of
the batteries that are needed to ensure that solar energy provides a constant
supply of electricity in the case of bad weather, for example. An alternative policy might be to build
three solar farms in different areas to provide the same power as the satellite
for much less cost and time.</div>
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Elon Musk is a noted entrepreneur and billionaire with large
businesses involved in both space development and solar energy and if anyone
were to be a powerful supporter of space based solar energy, it ought to be
him. Yet he has, very clearly, set out his view that<a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a8101/elon-musk-on-spacex-tesla-and-why-space-solar-power-must-die-13386162/" target="_blank"> space based solar energy has no useful advantage over conventional solar panels</a> on the surface of Earth
for these reasons. </div>
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Space based solar power (SBSP) does have many supporters
despite these points. In particular,
<a href="http://phys.org/news/2015-03-japan-space-scientists-wireless-energy.html" target="_blank">JAXA (the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)</a> has carried out useful
experiments on the transmission of energy using technology suitable for SBSP in
which energy was transferred over a distance of 500 metres. One result from this was showing how the
energy could be accurately directed to ensure it was received effectively.</div>
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Japan has in recent years shown particular interest in SBSP
in part due to the earthquake of 2011 and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
disaster. In moving away from nuclear
power and with a country with relatively little fossil fuel resources, SBSP
must appear an attractive alternative to investigate. <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-plans-massive-solar-power-station-space-by-2050-1494250" target="_blank">China</a> has shown a similar
interest. With its huge population coupled with an increasing standard of
living, China’s energy needs in the future will be enormous. If SBSP could provide a way to satisfy this
need without burning fossil fuels, it could be an ideal solution. </div>
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NASA has always had supporters of the concept and from time
to time various experiments in this area are proposed, including those
involving the International Space Station. The <a href="http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10202&page=1" target="_blank">Space Solar Power Exploratory Research and Technology</a> program proposed an ambitious timetable for work in
this field. </div>
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The <a href="http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=1254" target="_blank">US Army War College</a> has also investigated the concept.
Whilst noting the attractions and possible advantages of SBSP, they noted that
much of the technology required has yet to be sufficiently proven to fully
understand the costs and challenges involved.
Their report accepts that whilst the main theories concerning the
operation of SBSP are plausible, since its earliest days it has always seemed that around ten
years of work is needed to ensure the finer practical points are
established to get to a position where such a system could be constructed. </div>
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Likening it to research into fusion, of which there seems to
be rather more experimental work, the US Army War College concluded, like Elon
Musk, that at present there was no reason to think it provided any great
advantage over conventional ground based solar energy. Interestingly, their report does indicate it
might have some use for the military in war zones where they have substantial
energy needs without being able to rely on conventional power stations, which
are either not present or have been destroyed.</div>
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At present there seems to be a clear difference of opinion
between proponents of the concept, who often set SBSP within a broader context
of the development of space and its long term settlement, and detractors who,
whilst freely admiring it and its attractions, conclude that there is no clear,
practical advantage to SBSP as matters stand.
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In this context the most prudent way to proceed is with more
experiments so that a clearer understanding of the practical issues involved
can be acquired. The ideal here of
course would be experiments involving the transmission of power from the
International Space Station to a receiving station on Earth. This body of data
may support useful, alternative applications along the way. </div>
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If as we hope space development continues to progress,
including commercial activities, it maybe that the breathtaking costs involved
in the SBSP infrastructure will seem less insurmountable in future than they do
at present. This might be the case if Skylon proves to be successful in reducing the costs of access to space. Ultimately SBSP may be useful in
providing power to settlements on the Moon or habitats in space itself, such as
the Island One, where the absorbing qualities of the atmosphere are not
present.</div>
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While we have seen reasons why SBSP, despite its initial
promise, has never launched off the pages of academic papers and out into
orbit, there is still much to learn. In
a world seeking to divest itself of its addiction to fossil fuels, it must be
right to investigate it further, despite these present difficulties, in case it
may one day unlock for us the effectively endless and constant energy pouring
out of the Sun.</div>
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-38889042993348064222015-06-13T12:31:00.000-07:002015-06-13T12:32:22.441-07:00Space Settlement film - more animationI've been carrying out more work on my animated film about space settlement. This section includes some initial experiments on Space Based Solar Power (SBSP). There will be a narrator ultimately who will provide commentary on what you are seeing, but for now there are some shots of a reusable spaceplane followed by shots of a centrifuge at a small space station in Earth orbit. Then we are taken to a SBSP demonstration satellite in geostationary orbit, with a manned vehicle nearby. Really enjoying working on this and the next section will be building up to the initial Island Zero space station.<br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-54289058570011943122015-04-30T13:59:00.002-07:002015-05-01T01:08:08.005-07:00Message to Sir Richard Branson about building a Virgin Moon Base<i>Dear Sir Richard,</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>One of my colleagues in the British Interplanetary Society has just submitted a couple of papers to our Journal that describe a new approach to building a Moon base using solar energy and local materials by remote operation from Earth. The technique is based on mature technology from the nuclear industry but applies it in new ways and further details are set out below. We are sufficiently confident that we are keen to do some experimental work to prove the various ideas, culminating in constructing a prototype base here on Earth. A desert area would be best and we thought a suitable site might be on your space port in Arizona. You are well know for your interest in space technology so, if you would like to hear more, please let me know!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Regards,</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Adam Manning</i><br />
<i>Email: ionapollo@gmail.com</i><br />
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The most widely available lunar resources are the local regolith and power from sunlight. New vitrification methods are proposed for making dust free chambers strong enough to support atmospheric pressure. Cast in situ the underground structures require minimal excavation and should enable remote operation from Earth. Using this technique, there is a possibility of establishing long term bases/settlements on the Moon, Mars, Mercury. There are two basic obstacles to such settlements: gravity and radiation, and solutions to both problems are offered utilizing subsurface structures. The structures could house large settlements of humans in comfort and safety in conditions similar to those envisioned with space based habitats. Such settlements offer protection to their inhabitants from radiation events or asteroid strikes that could destroy an Earth-based civilization. Power required is half that for cement production.<br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-72394656326407808102015-04-17T11:10:00.000-07:002016-03-17T13:33:33.014-07:00Voices from L5 - Space Law<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6k8PorJOQpvdccR2Fde2bkob5e1ZZG3IqSzgcUbAtRQRpnz5Y8_Qnt9fSCHOQGn03kLrhSHQJFf9zdTl5j8fq_x7Dm4gLUYZsUKRLIPt2zNSnwS-t7KxgTQcfHmMk7iNIDoCqtyUSF0/s1600/VoicesfromL5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6k8PorJOQpvdccR2Fde2bkob5e1ZZG3IqSzgcUbAtRQRpnz5Y8_Qnt9fSCHOQGn03kLrhSHQJFf9zdTl5j8fq_x7Dm4gLUYZsUKRLIPt2zNSnwS-t7KxgTQcfHmMk7iNIDoCqtyUSF0/s1600/VoicesfromL5.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Voices from L5 is a series of podcasts created by space advocate Liam Ginty in which he talks to people from all around the world and from all walks of life about what space settlement means to them and their world.<br />
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When we talk about space settlement, or when we see it being discussed, it's so very often in hard engineering terms. Liam wants to change that and open the floor to allow everyone to talk about space settlement. On his show, he has artists, philosophers, anthropologists, lawyers, social scientists and anyone else with an interesting topic and a unique look at the future of humanity.<br />
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I was delighted to be asked to take part and in our interview Liam and I discuss aspects of Space Law relating to space settlement. He is a great interviewer and I thoroughly enjoyed taking part.<br />
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To listen, please use the link below:<br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-77129321298427249382015-03-08T08:39:00.001-07:002015-03-08T08:39:49.507-07:00Asteroid Redirect Mission - an animationThis animated sequence depicts an Asteroid Redirect Mission. We first
see a small space station in low Earth orbit. Then we are taken to a
large asteroid, similar in size to say Eros, in deep space. An unmanned
mission lands on it to obtain a boulder from the asteroid's surface.
This returns to a space station in high lunar orbit, set up for
processing asteroid material. <br />
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After initial processing at the
lunar station, some of the samples are returned to the station in Earth
orbit (which has expanded slightly in the meantime) for further
experimentation.<br />
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This animation is part of work for <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-space" target="_blank">Project SPACE</a>, a study by the <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a> on space settlement.Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-69791661745744445992015-02-26T12:24:00.000-08:002015-02-26T12:30:15.144-08:00Project SPACE update at the British Interplanetary SocietyLast night I was delighted to be part of an update on <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-space" target="_blank">Project SPACE</a> for the <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a>. Our study group has been working for around eighteen months so it was a good opportunity to discuss some of our findings and what we're looking into.<br />
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The group's leader, space advocate and presenter <a href="http://www.spaceflight-uk.com/" target="_blank">Jerry Stone</a>, gave an introductory talk about the concept as a whole, focusing on the work of Dr Gerard O'Neill and the concept of large space habitats.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Pg2QstdFtX0a045lvOXqAUUZ0yCZ0NcMBSRZGLYjS7OtEKCGksLEcPNvIisBI546kRyPgb1e-ryc2DVJ7kToP_XI6vyllC4DkhthFslP03Rh83Qu7KMqniciEZDcZ9dOFf4vhPJEbdY/s1600/jerryatbis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Pg2QstdFtX0a045lvOXqAUUZ0yCZ0NcMBSRZGLYjS7OtEKCGksLEcPNvIisBI546kRyPgb1e-ryc2DVJ7kToP_XI6vyllC4DkhthFslP03Rh83Qu7KMqniciEZDcZ9dOFf4vhPJEbdY/s1600/jerryatbis.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry Stone describes the Island One space habitat</td></tr>
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Jerry moved onto his detailed look at the mass of such habitats and his calculations on how much material would be needed to construct the initial habitat, known as Island One. His view was that the mass required was far in excess of that listed in the initial studies from the seventies. He also discussed Island Zero, the initial space station design that the group has been working on.<br />
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Dr Mike Leggett then gave a presentation about lunar resources, including their composition and means of extraction. He included within his discussion the possible obtaining of Helium 3 from lunar regolith. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Mike Leggett provides details about lunar resources</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I have been looking into the law of Outer Space and how it applies to space settlement and gave a presentation providing some points about this. Looking at the rules set out in the Outer Space Treaty 1967 and the Moon Agreement 1979, I stressed that the present legal regime was not the ideal regulatory environment for private and commercial space development.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96ZE5wZVZyG0CCbCCPR7Wqs9EVQnBLbp8xVhyphenhyphenu5jHjHyQFutphq4kY4cT5-Rbr3Zy_zOjVlmhYCNXALqOU4VHnZCDgo4P7wujp_-XAbWO3_4eR76lSYa2VyIN_1sFOVLTSYz6_SEjU-w/s1600/adamatbis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96ZE5wZVZyG0CCbCCPR7Wqs9EVQnBLbp8xVhyphenhyphenu5jHjHyQFutphq4kY4cT5-Rbr3Zy_zOjVlmhYCNXALqOU4VHnZCDgo4P7wujp_-XAbWO3_4eR76lSYa2VyIN_1sFOVLTSYz6_SEjU-w/s1600/adamatbis.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Talking about Space Law...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Here are the slides from my presentation :<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/45190608" style="border-width: 1px; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="425"> </iframe> </div>
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<b> </b><b><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/IonApollo" target="_blank"></a></b><br />
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It was an enjoyable evening and it was great to discuss the project with the audience afterwards. Jerry even baked his traditional Project SPACE cake as a treat!</div>
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<b>To learn more about Project SPACE please go here: <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-space" target="_blank">http://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-space </a></b> </div>
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-86491887592765998452015-01-18T01:27:00.000-08:002015-04-12T11:24:23.001-07:00Legal Issues in Space Settlement<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<br />
<i>By Adam Manning LLB, LLM</i><br />
<br />
<i>A discussion of the laws of Outer Space as they apply to the utilization of the resources of space and ultimately the settlement of space.</i> <br />
<br />
<i>This article is part of work carried out for <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-space" target="_blank">Project SPACE</a>, the <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a>'s study project on space colonization.</i><br />
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<b>Introduction</b><br />
<br />
As the realm of human activity has expanded out from the surface of Earth, so legal norms have been promulgated to regularize and restrict that activity. In examining the history of the law of Outer Space we can see Earth bound precedents playing an important role. Similarly influences from the geo-political context, whether it is Cold War hostility or the rise of the developing world, are bound up in the moulding of this novel jurisprudence. <br />
<br />
Yet the way we think of space and its resources is not solely defined by these factors especially when we consider how the exploitation of space resources and ultimately space settlement might develop in the future. The historical account of the development of ideas of sovereignty and property rights, or otherwise, in the law of Outer Space has been rooted in the relationships of nation states and has little to do with civilian or commercial interests and the greater use of space resources that we hope to see develop.<br />
<br />
As the exploitation of space resources becomes of greater interest, the law of Outer Space seems out of step with these interests due in large part to its historical sources. A study of the way the law has been created is a good illustration of the tensions between how many feel the law should be and what the law appears to be. The following discussion critically examines the present legal principles applying to space resources and in particular does so in the context of the sort of private or even commercial enterprises that may play a role in the development of space and in time even its settlement.<br />
<br />
<b>The historical background</b><br />
<br />
Prior to Sputnik I and the start of the Space Age in 1957, the English legal position concerning the ownership of space had been clear. The common law set forth the proposition of <i>cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad infernos</i>. This handy phrase meant that an owner of a parcel of land owned everything directly above and below it, to the Heavens themselves or Hell below. This doctrine clearly has its origins in a pre-scientific age when the practical exploitation of the heavens, or rather space, was of no significance.<br />
<br />
This doctrine was most significantly established in the case of <i>Bury v Pope</i> from 1587 and whilst its implication is that it is of unlimited extent, in practice it was only ever applied in a much more limited sense. Most importantly it found application in cases of overhanging buildings intruding into a property owner’s land. After the principle was set out by the noted jurist Blackstone, it became of importance in American Law as well. <br />
<br />
Exceptions to this rule soon became apparent though, such as the Crown’s rights to certain minerals below a plot of ground. With the advent of air travel by balloon the absurdities that might arise from applying the principle became evident. A case of a balloonist crossing someone’s land was referred to as being one of such negligible damage that the law would not provide a claimant with a remedy. The law was therefore seen as being out of step with people’s expectations and it does not appear that any Court proceedings for trespass were ever based on a flight by a balloon.<br />
<br />
When powered aircraft took to the skies the <i>cuius est solum</i> principle did not prevent aircraft crossing property owner’s land or for providing redress if they did. The Court’s decisions took the view that no one expected such a principle to be applied so as to prevent air travel over land. As the doctrine was originally precedent based, these cases could easily be distinguished from cases such as <i>Bury v Pope</i>. Accordingly the <i>cuius est solum</i> doctrine was found to have no application to air travel and, by extension, could have no role in Space Law.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHomHvD_V9M285MGCQQjkk42AtwSL7iEMdHOpJfYFv9Nx5L4ChLambU3SUlsjrt8v0lc01FQxxrGxFakgqBnS9VSnSxuXsmpLPKYOvRyJeBuYa6X0EXUPhlOC0e-eOScthTbRtyxha7c/s1600/lunarlabtestdocknode.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHomHvD_V9M285MGCQQjkk42AtwSL7iEMdHOpJfYFv9Nx5L4ChLambU3SUlsjrt8v0lc01FQxxrGxFakgqBnS9VSnSxuXsmpLPKYOvRyJeBuYa6X0EXUPhlOC0e-eOScthTbRtyxha7c/s1600/lunarlabtestdocknode.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small space station in lunar orbit</td></tr>
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<b>The Outer Space Treaty</b> <br />
<br />
With the start of the Space Age, the seeming legal void concerning operations in outer space and the need for a legal regime to manage and regulate this new arena of human endeavour became apparent. The United Nations was the natural focus of efforts to consider these issues at an international level and following work in the early sixties, the Outer Space Treaty was drawn up in 1967. More fully known as the <a href="http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SpaceLaw/outerspt.html" target="_blank">Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies</a>, this was and continues to be the major legislative enactment concerning the exploration and exploitation of space and the celestial bodies contained within it (with the exception of course of the Earth). <br />
<br />
One of the major influences on it was the legislation drawn up concerning the use of Antarctica and we can see this in the general conception of space in the Treaty as being an area under international control to be used for peaceful, scientific purposes. The treaty was drawn up in the expectation that soon humans would be exploring the Moon following President Kennedy’s challenge to the United States to achieve this by the end of the sixties.<br />
<br />
The Outer Space Treaty is of major importance, not least because it has been ratified by all the space faring nations. Drawn up during one of the most dangerous phases of the Cold War, one of its major preoccupations is unsurprisingly the peaceful use of space. States are prohibited from installing nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on the Moon or other celestial bodies. We have to be grateful that the Treaty has been successful in this aim to date.<br />
<br />
The Treaty’s efficacy is, it is suggested, bolstered by the view that its principles are now so well established that they form a substantial part of the customary law of Space. The principles set out in the Treaty reflect in many respects the general consensus that had been reached by that point as reflected in its preamble. The importance of the Outer Space Treaty due to its widespread ratification and acceptance into customary law suggests that any further development of the exploitation of space resources and the settlement of space will be greatly influenced by its terms.<br />
<br />
Of more direct relevance to those interested in the settlement of space than clauses concerning nuclear weapons are those that consider issues of sovereignty and proprietorship. The preamble sets the tone for the substantive clauses by noting the common interest of all humanity in the progress of the exploration and use of outer space. This idea of the common interest, or heritage, is a significant theme throughout the legislative law of Outer Space, reaching back as it does to both the law of the sea and the laws enacted concerning Antarctica. This principle is usually referred to by the formulation of the common heritage of mankind.<br />
<br />
The preamble goes on to say that the exploration and use of outer space should be carried on for the benefit of all peoples regardless of economic and scientific development. It is important to note these two statements are not, so far, mandatory legal requirements but instead describe a context in which all that follows has to be placed. Like much of the rest of the Treaty, the preamble is drawn from the wording of an earlier UN resolution enacted in 1963 and so the setting out of this context is suggestive of the historical tradition the Outer Space Treaty is based on. Nothing is said about private ownership or commercial interests or development of outer space.<br />
<br />
Whilst the Treaty seems to be afflicted by what we might call "planetary chauvinism" in that it appears aimed at activities on the surface of the Moon or other celestial bodies, it also includes activities in outer space itself; that is space above the surface of any celestial body. The Outer Space Treaty refers to outer space is to "<i>outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies</i>" and so its terms include activities such as the building of space stations or even space colonies or habitats in orbit around the Earth, the Moon or anywhere else in space. <br />
<br />
It is worth setting out some of the relevant Articles of the Treaty verbatim for consideration.<br />
<br />
<u>Article 1 </u><br />
<br />
<i> The exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.<br /><br /> Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.</i><br />
<br />
Whilst Article 1 does not directly restrict or limit exploitation by private concerns it has to be noted that according to the Treaty any activities by such concerns in outer space shall be carried out for the benefit of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind. It is not unreasonable to conclude that a company set up to mine asteroids so that the minerals can be sold on Earth for profit for the company’s owners does not easily or demonstrably fit within that description. This is not to say that any such company would immediately render its operations unlawful but a theme is developing, as we saw with the preamble, that the wording of the Treaty is not very helpful to those intent on the commercial exploitation of space resources.<br />
<br />
The requirement of free access to all areas of celestial bodies is also noteworthy and will be developed more robustly in Article 2. Suffice to say, a privately owned base on a Moon could find itself being intruded upon by others relying on this point.<br />
<br />
That the exploration and use of outer space has to be done without any discrimination on the basis of equality also puts a gloss on the otherwise unfettered freedom to explore and exploit. There is no regime in place to enforce this obligation and it is difficult to see how it could be made effective yet this stipulation, like the others, is not strongly supportive to those who seek the purely commercial exploitation of space resources.<br />
<br />
<u>Article 2 </u><br />
<i><br /> Outer 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.</i><br />
<br />
This very important Article makes it clear that no nation state can claim ownership of any part of a celestial body. A <i>de jure </i>claim for ownership is as invalid as a <i>de facto</i> one based on occupation, possession, use or exploitation. Nation states cannot, as it is commonly believed they did in earlier ages, stake claims to areas of the Moon or to asteroids by going there and planting a flag. During the Apollo programme, the United States was sufficiently concerned about this point that a statute was passed to make it clear that the act of planting flags on the Moon was not in anyway a territorial claim to the Moon or part of it.<br />
<br />
This is a very far-reaching principle and directly affects private space interests who seek to exploit resources on the Moon or asteroids. Private legal ownership of land devolves from a nation state’s legal status as sovereign. For an individual or company owning land within that nation state, they can rely on the state’s laws and Courts to recognize their ownership of that interest if someone seeks to interfere with it. In the absence of any power for a nation state to give recognition to private legal interests, there is no ability for private interests to legally enforce them.<br />
<br />
Article 4 of the Outer Space Treaty prohibits the installation of weapons of mass destruction on celestial bodies. Proponents of the settlement of space sometimes include the construction and use of a mass driver on the Moon in their plans and one question that might be asked is whether such a device could be prohibited under an interpretation of this Article. A mass driver in this scenario is a large installation that uses a long rail of electromagnets to accelerate a payload, typically an amount of lunar regolith, to extremely high speeds so it can be delivered somewhere else for use. For example, a payload of lunar regolith could be flung from the Moon’s surface to a point in space where a space habitat was being built. The lunar regolith in this example would then serve as building material for the construction of the habitat.<br />
<br />
It is possible that such a device could also be used destructively. Effectively boulders on the Moon could be catapulted from the lunar surface at Earth and once in the Earth’s gravity well would unerringly hit the surface with tremendous force. As a consequence, it is arguable that the construction of a mass driver on the lunar surface breaches this Article.<br />
<br />
Article 6 of the Outer Space Treaty states that nation states bear international responsibility for activities carried out in space by both governmental or non-governmental organizations. Activities by non-governmental entities must have authorization from nation states followed by ongoing supervision. To continue our example of a mass driver on the Moon, let us imagine a Canadian company constructing and installing one on the lunar surface and that due to negligent operation the payload from the mass driver strikes and damages another country’s space craft. <br />
<br />
According to Article 6, in this example the Canadian government would be liable for the damage so caused. It is likely that the Canadian government would have previously licensed the mass driver’s operation under Article 6 and part of this license could entitle the Canadian government to in turn pursue the company for any damages the government had been required to pay. It maybe, for example, that this authorization would require the company to obtain insurance for such a possibility. This potential liability on a government for the actions of a non-governmental agency is somewhat unusual in international law. <br />
<br />
The obligation this responsibility puts on national governments is often dealt with by a system of licensing. The UK’s licensing obligations are dealt with by the Outer Space Act 1986, which requires that any space activities launched from the UK require a license from the government.<br />
<br />
Article 8 of the Treaty makes it clear that simply because an object is launched into space, ownership of that object is not affected. So, no legal vacuum occurs simply because an object happens to be in the vacuum of space. Interestingly, Article 8 extends this principle to include not only objects that land on celestial bodies such as the Moon but also objects that are constructed on the surface of a celestial body. No inkling is given of how this interacts with the prohibition on claims of sovereignty set out in Article 2 but the inference here is that this concerns items of personal property rather than claims for land.<br />
<br />
For example, let us imagine a base on Mars populated by settlers. At some point, one of the settlers uses Martian soil in the construction of a building. The Outer Space Treaty does not prohibit the ownership of the building’s materials as such although Article 2 would prevent claims to ownership of the land on which the building stands.<br />
<br />
Article 9 of the Treaty is worth setting out in full.<br />
<br />
<u>Article 9</u><br />
<br />
<i> In the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, States Parties to the Treaty shall be guided by the principle of co-operation and mutual assistance and shall conduct all their activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, with due regard to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties to the Treaty. States Parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose. If a State Party to the Treaty has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by it or its nationals in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities of other States Parties in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, it shall undertake appropriate international consultations before proceeding with any such activity or experiment. A State Party to the Treaty which has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by another State Party in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, may request consultation concerning the activity or experiment.</i><br />
<br />
This important provision says a lot about the underlying forces at work in the creation of the Treaty and points the way to later enactments. If we are concerned about the utilization of the resources found in space particularly by private companies then this provision militates against those concerns. <br />
<br />
A requirement of consideration for other nation states is set out. It has to be remembered that all space activities are, under the Treaty, supervised by the signatory states and so there is the possibility that these somewhat nebulous sounding requirements will influence and shape a state’s supervision of private space activities. Adverse environmental contamination of Earth by the introduction of extraterrestrial matter has to be avoided. In the UK, for example, it is possible to imagine that lunar regolith could be regarded as a hazardous substance due to its very fine nature and would therefore be controlled through the applicable statutory regime. <br />
<br />
It is the second half of this Article that is most worrying for private space companies seeking to utilize the resources on the Moon or asteroids in working towards the settlement of space. Let us return to the imaginary mass driver being installed on the Moon. It does not seem difficult to imagine other countries being interested in such activity. This could then lead onto consultation concerning the work being undertaken.<br />
<br />
<u>Article 11 </u><br />
<br />
<i>In order to promote international co-operation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, States Parties to the Treaty conducting activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, agree to inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, of the nature, conduct, locations and results of such activities. On receiving the said information, the Secretary-General of the United Nations should be prepared to disseminate it immediately and effectively.</i><br />
<br />
Whilst the obligation to fulfill this requirement is on the signatory country, this could in theory require a private company to reveal any potentially commercial sensitive information. For example, the company constructing the mass driver on the Moon would have to reveal the results of their work thus enabling others to utilize this information. It is possible that intellectual property rights ought to be safeguarded, but this is yet another clause that does nothing to help the private utilization of space resources.<br />
<br />
Article 12 takes this point even further.<br />
<br />
<u>Article 12</u> <br />
<br />
<i> All stations, installations, equipment and space vehicles on the moon and other celestial bodies shall be open to representatives of other States Parties to the Treaty on a basis of reciprocity. Such representatives shall give reasonable advance notice of a projected visit, in order that appropriate consultations may be held and that maximum precautions may betaken to assure safety and to avoid interference with normal operations in the facility to be visited.</i><br />
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As before, private companies in space are supervised by their country of origin and so this requirement means that they would have to allow such visits (subject to reasonable notice) just as government installations on the Moon or Mars and so forth would have to. Again, this is not greatly helpful to a private company seeking to progress the utilization of space resources.<br />
<br />
In conclusion, the Outer Space Treaty was not drawn up with the private utilization of space resources in mind. In large part, it reflects the tensions between the space powers of the United States and the Soviet Union, particularly with its thankfully successful prohibition on nuclear weapons in orbit. The extension of the principle of the common heritage of mankind from the ocean bed and Antarctica to the reaches of outer space suggests a view of space as a wilderness, a realm beyond private or commercial exploitation. <br />
<br />
The legal enforceability of the Outer Space Treaty is not doubted. It has long been ratified by all the main space going powers. As of May 2013, 102 countries are party to it whilst a further 27 have signed it but have yet to ratify it. <br />
<br />
<b>The Moon Treaty</b><br />
<br />
Part of the rationale for the principle of the common heritage of mankind as applied to space was ensuring that the space faring nations, which tended to be the developed economies, did not appropriate space resources at the expense of the developing world. In the Outer Space Treaty we can see the working through of this principle in such requirements as to observe a principle of co-operation and to act with due regard to the interests of all other state parties to the Treaty as well as the effectively explicit reference to it in Article 1. <br />
<br />
The common heritage principle is an attempt to avoid the worst excesses of the imperial and colonial history of the world’s leading economies. For example, jurists had in earlier times sought to justify the colonization of America by the English, calling upon principles of Roman law amongst others. In dubiously setting out a supposed legality for the actions of the first settlers in appropriating land, these efforts in retrospect only seem to make the real nature of these events more apparent. The common heritage principle sets out an entirely new legal environment and its proponents have acclaimed it as the most important legal principle for thousands of years. An area set aside as part of the common heritage is simply not amenable to private or corporate exploitation. The general philosophy is that any such areas will be the subject of international consultation before development commences. <br />
<br />
The Outer Space Treaty came into existence shortly before the Apollo lunar missions. In the years following Apollo, the United Nations began work on a new treaty to supplement it and this became known as the Moon Agreement. It’s full name is the <a href="http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/SpaceLaw/moon.html" target="_blank">Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies</a> and it was adopted by the United Nations in 1979. Although it is known as the Moon Agreement it refers to not only the Moon but also any celestial bodies with the exception of the Earth, the orbits around any celestial body other than Earth and any trajectory to and from any celestial body other than Earth. Throughout the Moon Agreement, a reference to the Moon implies all of this and so "the moon" means all of outer space.<br />
<br />
Like the Outer Space Treaty, important provisions prohibit the installation of weapons of mass destruction, with direct reference to nuclear weapons, in orbit, on the Moon or any other celestial body. The Moon can only be used for peaceful purposes and there is a total prohibition on the setting up of military bases on celestial bodies as well. <br />
<br />
Article 4 is of immediate concern to those interested in the utilization of space resources.<br />
<br />
<u>Article 4</u> <br />
<br />
<i>1. The exploration and use of the moon shall be the province of all mankind and shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development. Due regard shall be paid to the interests of present and future generations as well as to the need to promote higher standards of living and conditions of economic and social progress and development in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.<br />2. States Parties shall be guided by the principle of co-operation and mutual assistance in all their activities concerning the exploration and use of the moon. International co-operation in pursuance of this Agreement should be as wide as possible and may take place on a multilateral basis, on a bilateral basis or through international intergovernmental organizations.</i><br />
<br />
The first part is a restatement of the common heritage principle, here in very clear and uncompromising language. Any development of space resources has to be for the benefit of everyone and not just those carrying out the development. Generational equity also has to be considered, that is ensuring future generations have some access to resources. Space activities are expected to take place in a context of international co-operation through, presumably, some form of consultation.<br />
<br />
We again come into contact with the tension between the common heritage principle and the needs of a commercial or corporate interest in utilizing space resources. It might be possible to suggest that commercial development of the Moon does benefit everyone as any form of economic activity has the possibility of creating jobs, income and capital but this rather tenuous theory cannot be what the framers of the Moon Agreement had in mind.<br />
<br />
In keeping with the Outer Space Treaty, anyone carrying out space activities is expected to freely transmit any information about their activities including any discoveries made. Article 7 requires that measures be taken to avoid contaminating Earth with hazardous extraterrestrial material but goes further and enjoins those exploring outer space to take measures to avoid adverse changes to the environment of the Moon or other celestial bodies. The large scale use of lunar or asteroid materials in the construction of a space habitat, for example, could potentially breach this Article. Also Article 7 envisages the possibility of areas of scientific interest on celestial bodies as potentially being protected by international preserves to be organized through further consultation.<br />
<br />
Article 11 of the Moon Agreement includes the words, “<i>The moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of mankind</i>” and goes onto reinforce the prohibition on claims of sovereignty over the Moon or celestial bodies. Space explorers are accorded full freedom to explore under the treaty but there is a total barrier to any claim of ownership to land. Buildings and bases can be built but the owners of the bases cannot thereby claim the land on which the base is stood (or inside in the context of an underground base).<br />
<br />
The Moon Agreement goes onto say that as exploitation of the Moon and other space resources becomes possible, the signatories are expected to consult on and create an international regime to govern the exploitation of those resources. This is the Moon Agreement’s way to resolve the conflict between the common heritage principle and the utilization and exploitation of space resources.<br />
<br />
A general outline is provided for this regime. Management of space resources has to be rational, carried out in a safe and orderly fashion and with a view to an expansion of the opportunities for utilization. The final point states that the regime has to ensure “<i>an equitable sharing by all States Parties in the benefits derived from those resources, whereby the interests and needs of the developing countries, as well as the efforts of those countries which have contributed either directly or indirectly to the exploration of the moon, shall be given special consideration</i>.” <br />
<br />
The regime has to, somehow, ensure that any exploitation of space resources allows for this sharing across all countries. It is not easy to see how this can be reconciled with utilization for commercial or private purposes. A case could be made that, for example, the construction of a space habitat or the use of lunar or asteroid materials in constructing a constellation of space solar power satellites was for the benefit of all states. Yet this indirect approximation of the principle is clearly not what the developing countries had in mind when this obligation was drawn up. <br />
<br />
Article 7 of the Moon Agreement has a requirement that is similar to Article 12 of the Outer Space Treaty by requiring anyone with a base or building on the Moon or other celestial bodies to allow anyone else, upon giving reasonable notice, to enter their premises. This strengthens the prohibition on claims to sovereignty and makes it far more difficult to suggest any part of an extraterrestrial base is entirely inaccessible to anyone else.<br />
<br />
As is well known, the Moon Agreement is of dubious enforceability. As of 2014 it has only been ratified by sixteen states. Set against the substantive recognition given to the Outer Space Treaty, the Moon Agreement has failed to attract widespread support.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsSFSR-jBZJNhDDCZKEzEXI69D7t-7jADXqfelbBTZi24eiBBWQHalLvK0GQ-XxF-bq5TPDEDS2-sraoHQ2tQLsCLW5Mq_rTRBwwGyFHUNpnTOXCb-yDDb9yeBzggapnmLqMEmnAdBIg/s1600/lunarlabtest2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsSFSR-jBZJNhDDCZKEzEXI69D7t-7jADXqfelbBTZi24eiBBWQHalLvK0GQ-XxF-bq5TPDEDS2-sraoHQ2tQLsCLW5Mq_rTRBwwGyFHUNpnTOXCb-yDDb9yeBzggapnmLqMEmnAdBIg/s1600/lunarlabtest2.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Asteroid Redirect mission approaches the lunar station </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Conclusions</b><br />
<br />
The Moon Agreement looks ahead to a future of more wide spread access and utilization of space. It envisages bases and buildings on and under the Moon’s surface and by extension other planetary bodies within the solar system. Its provisions are drawn up to help shape the legal environment of that future and the principle of the common heritage of mankind plays the most important role in that shaping.<br />
<br />
A key question concerning the commercial or private exploitation of the resources in space is one of ownership. An economic entity will want to own in some way the resources it uses to ensure it can keep the rewards for its activities. Yet the law of Outer Space at every stage prevents any claim to legal title to an extraterrestrial estate. Private ownership of land derives from legal recognition in a state’s courts, based on a state’s condition as sovereign of the nation in which that land is situated. If a state cannot claim any form of sovereignty, that necessary first step does not occur. As we have seen, whilst private ownership of the products of extraterrestrial materials is not directly prohibited, according to the Moon Agreement the use of resources to make such products has to be governed by an international regime. In other words, you may own what you make but the United Nations will seek to manage the whole process. This ambiguity is not helpful to those interested in the private or even commercial utilization of space resources.<br />
<br />
If we consider the effective power of these laws, we can be sure that the Outer Space Treaty’s provisions will be a major influence on the future development of space as long as it remains in force. Though the Moon Agreement does not have anywhere near the same international recognition, it’s provisions still provide some of the most important rules on how the use of space resources is at least expected to take place. The treaties will undoubtedly shape the context for future debates and negotiations for the development of space as they are the most important sources of legal norms on such activity at present. <br />
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It is no answer to say that anyone with the power to get into space and land on the Moon, Mars or an asteroid and commence some form of mining or other exploitation will thereby by default gain ownership and can simply ignore these legal provisions. For the foreseeable future, such an enterprise is at some point going to return to Earth and it will be Earth’s nations and their citizens, subject to the rule of law as they are, which will provide any markets for the goods and services these enterprises provide.<br />
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The terms of the Moon Agreement strongly suggest that there might be formidable opposition to commercial exploitation of space resources without the sort of equitable sharing, however achieved, that the Agreement prescribes. The common heritage principle could easily come to the aid of those seeking to prevent or hamper private or commercial space development. Despite the widespread failure to ratify it, the Agreement is still an important source of legal norms, posited by the United Nations. <br />
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It is disappointing in some respects that the Moon Agreement’s regime for space resources was not implemented as this would provide an indication of how the common heritage principle and private or even commercial exploitation might be reconciled, if at all. Commercial exploitation of other areas protected by the principle of the common heritage has been controversial and it is likely that space development will be the same. Yet we would at least have a regime in place which could, if required, be reformed to reflect new approaches to space development. As matters stand, there is a legal void on how this should lawfully proceed.<br />
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In the absence of such a regime it is possible that any development in space will be, as it has been to date, the province of space faring nations. Any private or commercial concerns face not only the usual technical and financial difficulties but also an unsympathetic legal framework.<br />
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The greater interest in private space development has once more thrown these legal difficulties into focus, as shown by a recent attempt at introducing new national legislation in America. The American Space Technology for Exploring Resource Opportunities In Deep Space (ASTEROID) Act sought to enjoin the US government to facilitate the commercial utilization and exploitation of asteroids. It also sought to enact a principle that whoever obtained resources from an asteroid thereby became the owner of that property and has full rights to that property in accordance with the law. Its most interesting provision is one that seeks to resolve any dispute between entities within US jurisdiction on the basis that whoever makes a claim first will be successful, subject to the international obligations on the government in such situations.<br />
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Nothing in the ASTEROID Act, such as it is, ostensibly breaches the Outer Space Treaty and the Act can be seen as a way of promoting the concept of obtaining resources from asteroids within the US legal system whilst giving due recognition to the provisions of the Treaty. Its progress towards enactment was brought to an end however and in the debate it was suggested that it would be some decades before anyone could practically obtain material from an asteroid to be used industrially. <br />
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The ASTEROID Act makes the point about the need for reform of the legal principles governing space resources if private and commercial utilization is going to prosper. Such activities will have to take place in a legal environment and at present that environment is inimical to these efforts growing and ultimately succeeding. It is submitted that these rules ought to be reformed if private efforts to further expand the reach of humanity are to be given the very best chance of achieving their dream.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span>Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-52235777405548799082014-11-09T12:54:00.002-08:002014-11-09T13:12:22.153-08:00Landing on an AsteroidThis is a thirty second sequence from work on the new space habitat film, depicting an unmanned mission landing on a large asteroid in preparation for grabbing a boulder from its surface. Please view in high resolution and at full screen size. <br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-5608561210163536962014-10-07T09:06:00.000-07:002014-10-07T09:06:33.422-07:00Work on the new film..A shot from work on the new film about space settlement. Here we see a small space station in low Earth orbit, constructed for the purposes of examining and analyzing near Earth asteroids. There are two habitat modules along with a laboratory. A crew capsule is also there for the return to Earth.<br />
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<br />Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-10576330027776082332014-09-14T10:49:00.000-07:002014-09-14T11:36:28.372-07:00Asteroid Redirect Mission - an animationI'm currently working on a documentary on space habitats as part of the study project for the <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a> and have completed the animation for the first section, which shows an initial Asteroid Redirect mission.<br />
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spacecraft is unmanned and after a gravity assist manoeuvre around Venus
it proceeds to obtain the asteroid and then returns it to a high lunar
orbit.<br />
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A crew capsule then departs Earth orbit to rendezvous with
the first and after docking, two astronauts set out to examine the
asteroid and take samples from it for further study.<br />
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The next section is going to show a mission to a much larger asteroid. This will involve collecting a boulder from the asteroid's surface and returning this to the base of operations in high lunar orbit. These initial sections are inspired by the NASA plans for missions of this sort and if you are interested in this please look up their animations as well which are, as you might expect, very good.<br />
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The eventual finished documentary will include narration to provide further explanation. I'm really enjoying working on it! <br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-71572715776149900232014-08-09T08:11:00.000-07:002014-08-09T08:11:03.411-07:00Approach to Island OneAnother great animation from Steve Gunn, here we see an approach to an Island One space habitat. This is part of the <a href="http://www.bis-space.com/" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a>'s Project SPACE on space settlement.<br />
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Island One is a space colony with a population of 10000 people, located at L5.<br />
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Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15333965082395815383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3147189447686645163.post-51286166134430043102014-07-16T12:06:00.000-07:002014-07-16T12:06:20.015-07:00#Apollo45 message - 45 years from Apollo 11! This is a message for the #Apollo45 campaign started by astronaut and moonwalker Dr Buzz Aldrin! Join in and create your own video as well :) It's about remembering and honouring the Apollo moon missions at the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. What are your memories of or reflections on Apollo? And how has it inspired you?<br />
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