Space Legislation
Here are various resources concerning space related
legislation, either enacted or proposed, on which
space activists had major influence.
Commercial
Space Transportation Act of 2003 (S-1260)
- "To promote the development of the commercial
space transportation industry, to authorize
appropriations for the Office of the Associate
Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation,
and for other purposes. "
Includes also the instructions :
" Not later than 6 months after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation
shall submit to Congress a report on the need
for a distinct regulatory regime for suborbital
vehicles taking into account the unique characteristics
and purposes of these vehicles."
Space
Tourism Promotion Act 2001 - H.R. 2443
- seeks to stimulate the development of space
tourism by means of guaranteed loans, tax credits,
establishment of a "straightforward and
predictable regulatory structure". However,
US govenment space vehicles and the US modules
of the Space Station could not be used by anyone
except officially permitted visitors. Sponsored
by Rep. Nick Lampson (D-TX)
Zero
Gravity, Zero Tax Bill 2003- H.R. 914
- space-related income excluded from gross income
for calculating income taxes for 10 years, except
for income from space-based telecommunications,
remote-sensing , and space launch companies
currently in business. Also, it provides $100
million in tax credits for investments in new
space enterprises. No capital gains tax on the
sale of the stock for a period of 10 years.
Sponsored by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Ca).
Invest in Space Now
Act 2003 - H.R. 2177 - provide tax credits
to investments in qualified new space launch
vehicles. The sliding scale would drop from
50% of the value of the stock in 2002 to zero
after 2010. Sponsored by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.)
and Rep. Solomon Ortiz (TX).
Spaceport
Equality Act 2003 - H.R.644 - commercial
spaceports could be financed with bonds exempt
from federal tax on their interest payments
(i.e. like tax-free municipal bonds). Spaceports
would thus recieve equal treatment as given
to airports. Sponsored by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.).
Commercial
Space Act of 1998 (HR 1274) set various
goals and guidelines for space commercialization
of the ISS, space launches, and other space
activities. This modified:
Charles
`Pete' Conrad Astronomy Awards Act of
2002 - establishes "an awards program in
honor of Charles "Pete" Conrad, astronaut and
space scientist, for recognizing the discoveries
made by amateur astronomers of asteroids with
near-Earth orbit trajectories."
Moon
Treaty 1979 - fearing that it would
restrict private ventures in space, activist
groups, especially the L5
Society, helped to prevent the US from approving
this treaty. It has yet to receive a sufficient
number of signatures from other countries to
go into affect under international law.
Vision for Space Exploration
(VSE) - Space initiative from President Bush presented
on January 14, 2004: Here are a sampling of articles and reference information
about the new space policy announced by President George
Bush on Jan.14.04
Costs - much of the
commentary on the costs of this very long term program
range from complete nonsense to outright fabrications.
Here are some articles that provide clarity and honesty
to the issue:
Hubble Space Telescope Rescue
Efforts to convince NASA to reconsider its plans
to not repair and upgrade the Hubble Observatory were
successful when NASA's decision was announced in October
2006 to schedule a Shuttle mission to the Hubble. Late
2008 is currently the time when Atlantis will go to
Hubble.
Space Settlement Manifesto
In early March of 2003, in the aftermath of the Columbia
disaster, representatives of most of the major space
advocacy organizations met to develop a common goal
for human spaceflight. They agreed to make space settlement
as the primary objective. The justifications included:
Space provides a new arena for the expansion of
human endeavors.
Protection of human culture and civilization from
catastrophic events such as asteroid collisions.
Space Licenses
Who licenses what with regard to rocket launches, space
probe missions, etc. is a complex issue.
The Outer Space Treaty specifies, for example, that
the home country is responsible for any damage, e.g.
a booster falling on a house, caused by a launch to
space by any organization of that country. So even when,
for example, Boeing uses its Sea Launch platform in
the Pacific it must get a US license.
If a US spacecraft might take a picture of earth, even
incidentally, it must get a license from NOAA.
Technology transfer laws in the US place great burdens
on those wanting to launch an American spacecraft on
a rocket outside the US.
Here are some resources related to space licensing.
Polls & Public Interest
and Support for Space
Here are articles and resources related to surveys of
the public about NASA and other space related topics:
Space
Prizes
The success of the X PRIZE project in attracting many
serious competitors has given encouragment to those who
believe that the government can also use prizes to motivate
space development.
America's
Space Prize - Created by Robert Bigelow, this
$50M prize is intended to spur the development of
low cost orbital transportation. The prize will go
to the first private organization to put a crew of
5 into orbit by 2010.
Private
Stages To Orbit by Adrian Tymes, Michael Wallis,
and Randall Clague of ERPS
presented at the ISDC 2003 meeting . It outlines
a federally funded program of prizes for specific
milestone accomplishments patterned after the X
PRIZE. A set of 5 competitions, with prizes for
runners-up instead of winner-take-all, would generate
incremental development going from low altitude rocket
vehicle flights to orbit. They call the program Fund
for American Space Transportation (F.A.S.T.)
NASA
NASA is often criticized for not presenting a clear,
carefully supported, and non-PR sounding case for the
direct and indirect benefits of space exploration.
NASA also has a poor record of separating its pure
research activities from those that could be taken over
by commercial enterprises. However, NASA is trying to
improve its efforts at commercialization of space as
indicated by these sites:
Investing
Information and web resources related to the $100
billion space industry
Eyes
In Th eSky
This section highlights the many benefits of remote
sensing such as environmental monitoring, precision
farming, resource management, etc.
Space
Discussions
Discuss, argue, rant
and rave about space policy, technology, history,
future and current events with other space enthusiasts
via newsgroups, online forums and chat rooms.
ISDC - International Space
Development Conferences The National Space
Society and a local chapter host, sponsor a yearly
conference on space development for society members
and the general public.
Space Frontier
Conference
The Space Frontier
Foundation sponsors a yearly conference in Los Angeles
that presents the latest progress in rocketry and space
development. This year's conference is presented in
collaboration with ProSpace:
"Join leaders of private space enterprise, government,
finance, and the media at the 8th annual Space Frontier
Conference, September 23-26, at the Sheraton Gateway
near LAX. SFC is the leading annual commercial space
conference. Topics range from commercial space marketplaces
of today, such as Reusable Launch Vehicles and the
International Space Station, to potential markets
of tomorrow, such as space-based solar power, the
Moon, Mars, and asteroid mining."
