Jon Goff, Friday, 3-15-13 March 16, 2013
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: Altius Space Machines, benefit sharing, Columbus expedition, Compactly-Stowable Long-Reach Spacecraft Robotic Manipulators (arms), DARPA, Direct to Station Deliveries, Gecko Gripper Touch-to-Grasp tool, ISS, Jon Goff, JPL, Kickstarter., Lunar Patent, Microsat free flyer, Moon Treaty, Plug and Play, robotic mission, satellite servicing, Selenian Boondocks Blog, space property rights, Spain, Sticky Boom, U.N. space treaties. MINION Project.
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Jon Goff, Friday, 3-15-13
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1974-BWB-2013-03-15.mp3
Guest: Jon Goff. Topics: The Lunar Patent concept and Altius Space Machines company updates. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information.
We welcomed Jon Goff, President and CEO of Altius Space Machines, back to The Space Show for this 60 minute discussion focusing both on the idea of a lunar patent and Altius company projects and updates. I suggest you read and follow along with these websites and blogs: http://selenianboondocks.com; http://altius-space.com, and Jon’s blog article about the lunar patent concept http://selenianboondocks.com/2013/01/random-thoughts-columbus-article-link-and-lunar-patents. For the first part of our hour long discussion with Jon, we focused on the lunar patent idea. Jon got the idea to write about it on his blog from Mike Mealling’s own blog post on his RocketForge blog, “Lessons in exploration from Columbus and the Spanish Crown” at http://rocketforge.org/2013/01/10/lessons-in-exploration-from-columbus-and-the-spanish-crown.html. Jon spent time with us going over the history of how and why the Spanish crown put forth the Columbus expedition which he said was all about getting patents along the trade routes. Jon applied this concept to lunar development explaining how it might work. He also suggested this might be an end run around the absence of property rights and the terms of the U.N. space treaties. Listeners asked questions about how a patent might work, would it need to be issued by an international entity to be enforceable, and how could it be enforced. This brought up the question of benefit sharing and terms & concepts such as those found in the Moon Treaty. Jon said he was interested in feedback, especially from the space legal community so please share your thoughts on The Space Show blog. During the balance of our time with Jon, he told us about his company plans, new ideas, SBIRs, and SAA agreements to develop a new breed of robotic arms. We talked about tools for satellite service and possible ISS free flyers. Jon told us about their project with Nanoracks, DARPA, and JPL. He also described MINION which is a project with NASA LArc for an extendable/retractable arm that could operate inside the ISS. You can read about this project on Jon’s Selenian Boondocks blog. A listener asked him about using Kickstarter for funding new projects and another listener was interested in hearing more about Jon’s plans for Altius in the future.
If you have comments/questions for Jon Goff, please post them on The Space Show blog. You can reach Jon through the Altius website, his blog, or through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.
Michael Listner, Tuesday, 11-27-12 November 28, 2012
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: Apollo landing site preservation, Austria space law, benefit sharing, Code of Conduct, commercial space, CubeSat, delineation of outer space, EnviSat., ITAR, Law of the Sea Treaty, limited liability laws, Michael Listner, Moon Treaty, Outer Space Treaty, space debris, space law 2012, space policy, space property rights, suborbital space, TCBMs
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Michael Listner, Tuesday, 11-27-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1902-BWB-2012-11-27.mp3
Rand Simberg, Tuesday, 5-15-12 May 16, 2012
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: " Rand Simberg, Antarctica, Arctic, English Common Law, failure, fatal accidents, government regulation, land claims, launch country liability, Law of the Sea Treaty, Liberty Launch Vehicle, Moon Treaty, NASA, off planet development, Outer Space Treaty, public relations, risk aversion, royalty interests for space, space policy, space property rights, The Final Frontier, third party injury/damage., U.S. congress, U.S. real estate law for space
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Rand Simberg, Tuesday, 5-15-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1775-BWB-2012-05-15.mp3
Guest: Rand Simberg. Topics: Space Frontier property rights and risk aversion. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed back Rand Simberg to discuss his research paper on space property rights, Homesteading the Final Frontier (http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Rand%20Simberg%20-%20Homesteading%20the%20Final%20Frontier.pdf). In the second part of the program, we discussed his next project focusing on our being too risk averse. Our property rights discussion addressed many areas including land claims, the Outer Space Treaty, the Moon Treaty, English Common Law, royalty payments, commercial space development & enhancement, government regulation, marketable space real estate, both the Antarctica & Arctic models, & the Law of the Sea Treaty. Issues about launch country liability/responsibility were discussed & several listeners commented to Rand on his ideas, both for & con. I also strongly recommend you read his paper per the URL above as he does a good job of laying out his idea and why he believes it to be both viable and important.
In the last segment, we switched topics to his newest project dealing with risk aversion. He said the working title of his new project would be “We Are Not Killing Enough People.” When I questioned him about the wisdom of such an inflammatory title, he said it was meant to get attention. Listen to the discussion and see what you think. Rand & listeners cited many examples of what is believed to be excessive regulation that either already does or has the potential to limit our choices as to what we can and cannot do. I also cited examples from my own life about choosing risky things to do without having to be concerned about government regulations at the time. But Rand kept the topic focused on space as much as possible & put forth a strong case for individual choice as long as it does not impact third parties & he made a strong connection with choice to economic growth, development, & resource expansion/utilization. He also talked about the need to be free to fail and that frontiers have never been settled throughout history without the loss of life. Near the end of the program, one listener said to Rand that “life without risk is a fantasy.” Our congress was a big part of the focus of the discussion & here, Rand suggested that since most in Congress don’t care that much about space & most people don’t either, that when we write to our representatives, our letters have more impact than usual because they so seldom here from space supporters other than those in the industry lobbying for this or that policy. Rand received lots of agreement on his risk conclusions & his idea that more people need to die to develop the frontier, but he also got strong opposition to his ideas. Bill was one who opposed Rand’s ideas from a marketing & adverse publicity perspective. Jim suggested that Rand & others needed to convince the public & Congress that space was a frontier and that it was actually worth dying for in settling/taming it. For the most part, there was strong support for being less risk averse & for settling & economically developing the space frontier. When Rand’s new project is published, I will be sure to call your attention to it so you can read & evaluate it for yourself.
Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog above. Rand can be contacted through his own blog, Transterrestrial Musings at www.transterrestrial.com. You can also comment on his Space Show appearance on his blog in addition to our blog.
Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, Monday, 4-30-12 April 30, 2012
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: asteroid mining, Commercial Crew, commercial markets, customary international law, down select, Dragon, Earth imaging, Falcon 9. , Federal Acquisition Rules (FAR), Moon Treaty, Outer Space Treaty, Planetary Resources, property rights, Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, SLS, Space Act Agreement, space telescopes, Space X, static test, U.S. congress
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Robert (Bob) Zimmerman, Monday, 4-30-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1764-BWB-2012-04-30.mp3
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Space X static test, Congress & commercial crew, Planetary Resources & space property rights. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to the program to discuss today’s Falcon 9 static test, Congress & commercial crew, and the Planetary Resources announcements of last week. Visit Bob’s website for more information, http://behindtheblack.com. During the first segment, Bob talked about congress and its proposed treatment of commercial crew including down selecting the companies, reducing funding, and moving to the FAR instead of remaining with the Space Act Agreement. Bob got lots of questions about markets in space and why commercial companies need government money in the first place. In this segment, we also talked about the Falcon 9 static test today and its relevance for congress. Bob targeted SLS for discussion. As you will hear, there was not much support for SLS among those of us listening to today’s program.
In the second segment, we talked about the Planetary Resources venture announced last week. Part of our focus was on the 9″ space telescope, its likely uses and resolution. We talked about it for asteroid finding and Earth imaging – with serious reservations. Bob suggested that the real business for the company was in selling the space telescopes to customers wanting that product or service as the mining was still a decade or so out into the future. In talking about the telescope, we discussed pointing, stability, resolution, being placed on the Moon, and less than ideal light coming from the asteroids. In talking about space telescopes, we discussed Hubble and the JWST. In other space news updates, Bob talked about Orbital moving Antares to the pad for its testing and there is an article on his blog about it being seriously over budget: www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/orbital-sciences-development-costs-increase-371291. Another topic we discussed was the Chinese political system and its turmoil, also its economy and how this might impact their space program. Bob had much to say about this as well as India and its space program which he said might prove to be the dark horse in space development. Toward the end of this 2 hour 8 minute program, Michael Listner called in to talk about legal issues for Planetary Resources in their resource extraction stage of development, plus property rights, the Outer Space Treaty and even the impact of the Moon Treaty. Bob and Michael had a spirited debate about these issues, including the potential influence of the Moon Treaty and international customary law which Bob completely dismissed. Michael has an excellent article on the subject at www.spacesafetymagazine.com/2012/04/26/commercial-space-leap-earth-orbit-legal-implications/.
Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can reach Bob Zimmerman through his website.
Michael Listner, Monday, 1-2-12 January 2, 2012
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: arbitration agreements, Article 9 of the Outer Space Treaty, Austrian domestic space law, benefit sharing, careers in space law, Chinese space policy, DOD space, Draft Treaty On The Prevention Of The Placement Of Weapons In Outer Space, ESA, European Code of Conduct For Outer Space Activities, FAA, Google Lunar X-Prize, Indian space policy, international treaties, ISS, launching country, Liability Convention, lunar artifacts, lunar mineral extraction, Michael Listner, Moon Treaty, NASA, New Space, Outer Space Treaty, Registration Convention, rogue nations, SLS, space law, space property rights, space weapons, The Space Review, The Threat Or Use Of Force Against Outer Space Objects (PPWT)., Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures (TCBMs), United Nations space treaties, voluntary agreement
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Michael Listner, Monday, 1-2-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1681-BWB-2012-01-02.mp3
Guest: Michael Listner. Topics: National and international space law issues including property rights, the Moon Treaty & more. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomes Michael Listner to the program to discuss national and international space law issues and related matters. We started out discussing the new Austrian domestic space law and inquiring of our guest why we should take note of this Austrian law here in the U.S. As you will hear from Mr. Listner, the new Austrian law relates specifically to the UN space treaties and plays a role in international space law. Our guest wrote a recent article on this subject in The Space Review on Dec. 12, 2011. You can read his article at www.thespacereview.com/article/1988/1. Another interesting article of his you might value is in DefensePolicy.org from July 7, 2011 and titled “TCBMs: A New Definition and New Role for Outer Space Security.” You can download it at www.defensepolicy.org/2011/michlis/tcbms-a-new-definition-and-new-role-for-outer-space-security. Our discussion then focused on launching country issues and liability, satellite operations in different countries and both the Liability and the Registration U.N. Conventions. This discussion led us to talking about the European Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities and Michael updated us on the status of this voluntary agreement, both on the international front as well as here in the U.S. Other issues discussed in this segment included space debris and the Draft Russian Chinese Treaty On The Prevention Of The Placement Of Weapons In Outer Space (PPWT). We also talked about the Chinese GPS system covering Asia, its military focus, and Chinese geo political intersects. Michael then introduced us to Transparency and Confidence Building Measures (TCBMs) as alternatives to treaties. This prompted several listener questions and comments about “so called” government transparency, the word of governments, and their effectiveness so far. This was an interesting discussion, especially when I asked our guest for his personal opinion on these types of agreements. Space tourism became a subject and we spent some time on the liability issues and the states that have passed liability protection laws for the space companies. Jack from Virginia was listening and provided us with important information about the Virginia law which he largely authored and which has become a model for the laws in Florida, Texas, and New Mexico. We spent the rest of the first segment talking about liability and space tourism issues. In the second segment, Helen asked if funding levels for NASA and space interests correlated to up’s and downs in space policy. As you will hear, most policy is driven by politics, not funding levels. There were lots of questions about the legality of the Moon Treaty and its applicability to commercial space, even Google Lunar X Prize contestants. We fielded questions on lunar mineral extractions as well as messing with Apollo artifacts on the Moon. We then jumped over to property rights and what this actually means regarding space issues. As we were nearing the end of our discussion, I asked Michael if space law was largely an academic field or if it was becoming a career choice field in terms of practical application. He said it was becoming more and more practical and more and more schools were offering commercial law classes. If you have comments or questions for Michael Listner, please post them on the blog URL above.
Matthew Kleiman, Monday, 11-28-11 November 29, 2011
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.Tags: Apollo landing sites no fly zones., Common Heritage of Mankind, Draper Labs, Google Lunar X-Prize, Law of the Sea Treaty, lunar burial, Matthew Kleiman, Moon Treaty, NASA Apollo landing sites guidelines, New Mexico State University Lunar Legacy Project, Outer Space Treaty, Phobos-Grunt., Protecting Apollo Lunar Artifacts, space debris, space law, Space Liability Convention, space property rights, space salvage law, space treaties, World Heritage Sites
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Matthew Kleiman, Monday, 11-28-11
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1662-BWB-2011-11-28.mp3
Guest: Matthew Kleiman. Topics: Protecting Apollo artifacts on the Moon, space legal & property rights issues. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. The Space Show/OGLF is now engaged in its annual fundraising drive. Please see & act upon our appeal at http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/space-show-2011-fundraising-campaign. We welcomed Matthew (Matt) Kleiman to the show to discuss his recent TSR article, “Protecting Apollo artifacts on the Moon, written on November 7, 2011. You can read the article at www.thespacereview.com/article/1961/1. We began our discussion by describing the Apollo artifact situation, explaining ownership of them per the Outer Space Treaty in that there is no space salvage law. He said NASA recently issued guidelines for protecting the Apollo artifacts given the likelihood that private companies and possibly other nations might get to the sites, disturb or alter them, or even contaminate a few of the ongoing experiments that are still functioning. As you will hear, the guidelines are not enforceable, they are voluntary, and you can find them at www.collectspace.com/news/NASA-USG_lunar_historic_sites.pdf. We spent a major part of this segment talking about the guidelines and related issues. Also discussed were liability issues and the problem with determining negligence regarding space activities. A listener asked about the timing of the NASA guidelines announcement given that at least for now, we are unable to return to the Moon. Matt then separated out robotic missions to the Moon as compared to humans returning to the Moon. Our discussion also took us to the issue of property rights on the Moon and elsewhere in space. We started the next segment by asking Matt about the Moon Treaty and its status. We talked some more about salvage law for space and addressed the issue of why the US prefers to use international law for protecting the sites rather than doing it unilaterally as that raises potential sovereignty issues posed the by the space treaties. Phobos-Grunt came up with regards to space debris issues. During our space debris discussion, we talked about liability, the fact that an individual cannot bring an action other than through his/her country (the State Department for U.S. citizens) and more. Matt talked about and described the Reasonable Person Doctrine. A listener asked about the Google Lunar X-Prize and Matt briefly talked about the Draper programs with two teams. He also told us about the long standing Draper Labs participation in our space program and that Draper Labs was the first non-government Apollo team member. Another listener asked about the common heritage of mankind language in the Moon Treaty and to a lesser degree in the Outer Space Treaty. Toward the end of our discussion, we talked about the challenges for making new treaties and the concepts/programs being used to accomplish nearly the same as a treaty but using a process other than a treaty. If you have questions/comments, please post them on The Space Show blog URL above. Matt can be emailed at matthew.kleiman@gmail.com.
