# Are there laws about spaceflight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-laws-about-spaceflight/323170 "2005-09-24T03:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-laws-about-spaceflight/323170/1 "2005-09-24T03:06:53Z")
In [another thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=336335), a couple of people seem to have the opinion that private space exploration would work better than NASA but that NASA was preventing private spaceflights (admittedly neither said so directly). My question is whether there is anything the government is doing to prohibit private space flights? If I had the money to build my own space ship would I be able to do so? If I had the resources to build an orbiting space staion or to go to the moon or Mars, would I be able to do it legally? Suppose I just wanted to build a rocket to launch a small Sputnik-like satellite? Is there some law prohibiting private citizens from going into space? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-laws-about-spaceflight/323170/2 "2005-09-24T03:21:02Z")
IIRC, in between your back yard and outer space are one or two different kinds of airspace that the FAA doesn’t like you going into unannounced. Various government agencies in a couple of differnet countries would also get testy if you lobbed a rocket into orbit without letting anyone know you were going to do it. As far as I know, mostly you just have to let everyone know ahead of time so they can make a hole for you to fly through rather than have this rocket come blasting at them out of nowhere. That said, there are probably laws and regulations concerning materials, fuels, construction, etc. involved in getting such a rocket together that you’d have to deal with before you could even launch the thing. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-laws-about-spaceflight/323170/3 "2005-09-24T03:22:04Z")
Just a WAG, but I imagine you’d be in for a world of hurt from the FAA if you tried to launch anything larger than a toy rocket without getting special permission, seeing as how you have to go through active commercial airspace to get into _outer_ space. Not to mention that I don’t doubt you’d be paid a visit by the DHS. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-laws-about-spaceflight/323170/4 "2005-09-24T03:58:52Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > In [another thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=336335), a couple of people seem to have the opinion that private space exploration would work better than NASA but that NASA was preventing private spaceflights (admittedly neither said so directly). > > My question is whether there is anything the government is doing to prohibit private space flights? If I had the money to build my own space ship would I be able to do so? If I had the resources to build an orbiting space staion or to go to the moon or Mars, would I be able to do it legally? Suppose I just wanted to build a rocket to launch a small Sputnik-like satellite? Is there some law prohibiting private citizens from going into space? Not only is the government not preventing private spaceflight, but it often contracts with and sells launch services to private spaceflight efforts, the premier among them being Orbital Sciences Corporation. The US government has allowed private launch of expendable launch vehicles since the Commerical Space Launch Act of 1984. Prior to the _Challenger_ disaster, the government put a damper on commercial booster development by insisting that all future government and military payloads would be boosted on the Shuttle. When it turned out that the STS didn’t have capability for all necessary missions, the Air Force started contracting with Boeing to develop what is now the Delta IV family of rockets, which is the highest payload and most mission-capable booster in the US inventory (and the largest operating one in the world). Now, of course, the Shuttle caries now commerical satellites or vehicles, and all are either launched by American companies (mostly out of Vandenberg AFB or Cape Canaveral Air Center) or a foreign interest like Arianespace. While the government doesn’t exactly go out of its way to foster new competitors to the space launch industry (mostly as a protectionist measure for the traditional aerospace companies who hold major contracts and provide large contributions to certain Congressmen) I don’t know that there’s any evidence that they are actively obstructive. Launch operators are required to get clearance from the Department of Transportation through what is no doubt a convoluted bureaucratic process, but that’s just entrenched red-tape for you. Private space launch enthusiasts need to acknowledge that the reason commerical industry hasn’t rushed into space is that space launches are incredibly complex, expensive, risky, and most of all, nonprofitable at the current level of industry. Boeing struggles to cost-justify their booster division (though I’m sure they make it up elsewhere in their defense budgets) and that’s on a launcher with a legacy going back nearly sixty years. Burt Rutan and SpaceShip One is dramatic, but he isn’t making his investors any cash from the millions they’ve sunk into it, and while he’s put a man in “space” he hasn’t put anything in orbit. We need, if not perhaps a massive government-run space program, a heavily subsidized government-directed space initiative if we are to maintain a national presence in space. The fact that there is no justifiably defense-related reason for a manned space program (as claimed by Robert McNamara back when he cancelled Blue Gemini and since vindicated) makes it difficult for many to accept such a large single program expense. Certainly, a private company interested in making a near-term profit wouldn’t even consider the proposal. So no, there are no laws _prohibiting_ private space industry, even manned launches. On the other hand, it is the _de facto_ position of NASA (as witnessed by their opposition to space tourism by the Russian Space Agency) that space should remain the purview of governments, with King NASA at the head of the table. They certainly aren’t encouraging private enterprise, but nor do they have the power to prohibit it. The biggest barrier between commerical access to space is cost; if not for that, more industries would be involved in space exploitation and travel, and if they have to launch from French Guyana instead of the Cape, so much the better from a launch position point of view. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-laws-about-spaceflight/323170/5 "2005-09-24T04:02:36Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Just a WAG, but I imagine you’d be in for a world of hurt from the FAA if you tried to launch anything larger than a toy rocket without getting special permission It ain’t the size of the rocket, it’s the height. I remember a Saturday about five-six years ago now (pre-9/11) when I called flight service before taking off and I was informed that there were two model rocket clubs with launch authorizations to 8,000 and 12,000 feet respectively in my chosen flight path. Um, yeah, I modified my plans slightly. Right now, the FAA seems to have at least some jurisdiction over spaceflight, at least that which takes place under 50,000 feet in altitude. Various regs mention things like “space shuttle” and “space launch”. Air traffic control tracks the shuttle on descent. Warnings of launches and landings are disseminated on the NOTAM system (NOTice to Air Men) so pilots stay out of harm’s way. Rutan’s SpaceShipOne was built under FAA regs, and is registered as an experimental _aircraft_ with an _aircraft_ “N-number”, launched from the Mojave _airport_ using ordinary air traffic controllers/procedures with a FAA certificated pilot (two of 'em, actually, although not at the same time) using FAA permissions and waivers for things like supersonic flight. I don’t think the government wants to _prohibit_ private space flight so much as they want to avoid things like failed attempts at private spaceflight raining down in flaming pieces over inhabited areas like major cities. Also want to avoid unfortunate collisions between spaceships and other vehicles that might be in the vicinity. At least in the US, there is considerable leeway allowed in building/flying experimental machines provided you make provisions to avoid hurting people and property on the ground. There are also rules about carrying passengers on unproven machines, mostly prohibiting passengers in same (which is why SpaceShipOne had two empty seats and the weight _equivalent_ of three people, instead of three actual people for the X-prize flights). A lot of it boils down to being allowed to kill yourself but not someone else. I don’t think the FAA regulates spaceship parts/systems to any great extent right now. I suppose regs regarding use of oxygen over a certain altitude would come into play, but those weren’t written specifically for spaceflight. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-laws-about-spaceflight/323170/6 "2005-09-24T04:12:35Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > It ain’t the size of the rocket, it’s the height. Which is what I meant, but wrote badly. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-laws-about-spaceflight/323170/7 "2005-09-24T04:38:52Z")
[Subcommittee on Aviation Hearing on Commercial Space Transportation: Beyond The X Prize](http://www.house.gov/transportation/aviation/02-09-05/02-09-05memo.html) > [@](#): > > In 1984, Congress passed the Commercial Space Launch Act (the 1984 Act). The 1984 Act sought to encourage the development of the emerging commercial space launch industry and to facilitate compliance with Federal requirements. The Act created a licensing mechanism to enable quick and efficient compliance with existing Federal regulations. > > Additionally, licensing oversight was consolidated into the newly established Office of Commercial Space Transportation (OCST) in the Department of Transportation (DOT). In 1995, the Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (AST) was transferred to the FAA. It is the only office within the FAA authorized to oversee and regulate the commercial space launch industry. > > AST is responsible for regulating launches conducted by private companies in the United States. AST’s mission is to make sure commercial launch activities do not harm public interests, including safety of the public and property as well as U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. AST’s mandate is also to encourage, facilitate, and promote U.S. commercial space transportation and the United States space transportation infrastructure. > > AST issues launch licenses for commercial launches of orbital rockets and suborbital rockets… For current licensing and regulations see: [FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (AST)](http://ast.faa.gov/)