2:20 pm: Michelle Murray of the FAA Office of Space Commercialization talked about the process for obtaining experimental permits such as those needed for the Lunar Lander Challenge competition. There will sponsor a workshop on the topic.

She says that Blue Origin carried out a test flight this week. Nothing posted about it on the Blue Origin website but they are usually secretive about what they are doing.
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2:35 pm: RLV Flight Insurance Panel: Kelly Alton (insurance, United Risk Solutions, Inc.), James Dunstan (space law), Doug Griffith, Ralph Harp (Falcon Aviation Insurance)
- Griffith : insurance for third parties, for spaceflight participants.
- Need insurance up to $500M to cover uninvolved public (depends on most probably loss calculation)
- $100M coverage needed to cover government property
Harp: Aviation insurance companies like his are now taking a look at the new RLV companies and trying to decide whether to get into the business.
Alton: Discusses scenarios like the Lunar Lander Challenge for how 3rd party coverage is determined.
Dunstan: Discusses spaceflight participant coverage.
- 40k people die per year in the US
- Hundreds aviation deaths annually
- two spikes in spike deaths
- Autos could be required to be built to NASCAR safety standards and withstand many currently fatal accidents but they are not.
- Practical approaches are required that take costs and benefits into account.
- Space should follow the international aviation industry approach to accidents and liability.
- Rules on "Human Space Flight Requirements for Crew and Spaceflight Participants" - watershed event. A framework space advocates working at for decades.
- Discusses the Virginia spaceflight liability and immunity act.
-- Useful for the commercial spaceport at Wallops
-- Virginia has a legal tradition of not recognizing any sort of signed waiver. That is, no waiver signed by the customer can protect a defendant from being sued for gross neglect. So this bill could help overcome this.
-- Waiting for governor to sign.
-- Won't know, however, if it will stand up in court until it is tested.
- There is the possibility of being sued by a participant who later comes down with a rare form of cancer and blames it on the spaceflight.
- Harp: Underwriters are essentially bookies, not scientists. Covered Confederate Air Force for ten years. A B-25 going over an audience is a lot more scary than the Pixel flying.
- Underwriters need a resume of who is involved, a general description of what you plan to do, and the safety systems and procedures.
- Price is high now but will come down as competitors come into the market.
- Aviation insurance is much more of a human judgment situation than in, say, auto insurance, which will go according to a book.
- Doubtful of Virginia law with regard to protection for personal liability lawsuits.