Once property rights are established, space-based free enterprise can take off. By K. DEAN LARSON Aug. 21, 2014 7:16 p.m. ET The U.S. commercial space industry has grown substantially over the last decade. Companies such as SpaceX and Orbital Sciences have delivered cargo to the international space station. Blue Origin, Boeing , Sierra Nevada Corp. and SpaceX are developing the capability to deliver people to low earth orbit. Bigelow Aerospace is developing habitation modules for use in low earth orbit and is set to deliver one to the international space station next year. Now other companies are anticipating an entirely new space adventure: mining asteroids. The resources they find, from water to elements like titanium and iron, will help make the building blocks of civilization on earth available to people who need them in space—without the cost of bringing such substances from earth. A critical component still missing is congressional action to enable this newest use of outer space. The quest for commercial access to low earth orbit is a glowing example of the progress that can be made when government lays the groundwork that allows commerce to succeed. Yet beyond low-earth orbit—typically 200-300 miles up—government encouragement for space commercialization is notably weaker. A few companies, such as Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries, have formed with the goal of mining asteroids. Why asteroids? Because it currently costs several thousand dollars per pound to put anything from Earth into low-earth orbit. Asteroids are probably made of all the ingredients necessary to live in space, including water. These companies intend to supply the raw materials to support an entirely new space economy. Water will be particularly important. Beyond sustaining human life, water can shield people from harmful radiation and serve as fuel for spacecraft. It can be separated into its two components to generate energy or be heated with focused energy from the sun. These infant asteroid-mining companies and their investors are taking on enormous risks to develop technologies to extract usable resources in space. The hitch? There is currently no legal guarantee they will be able to profit from the resources they mine. The ownership of resources mined in space is legally murky. Enter the American Space Technology for Exploring Resource Opportunities In Deep Space (Asteroids) Act, introduced last month by Reps. Bill Posey (R., Fla.) and Derek Kilmer (D., Wash.). This bill, which applies only to asteroids, explicitly assigns the ownership of mined resources to the entity that obtained such resources. The Asteroids Act also protects a companys operations on an asteroid from harmful interference. Although the bill doesnt yet define harmful interference, it will probably define it similarly to the way that custom and law does for fishing on the high seas. A fishing vessel is free to fish a lucrative school without another vessel navigating in a way to cause harm to the first vessel. These two elements—ownership and protection from interference—are essential for any enterprise to realistically pursue mining anywhere, including outer space. Debate will probably center on the bills consistency with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Article I of that treaty says in part that, Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States. The operative word here is use. Article VI goes on to say: The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty. Thus the Asteroids Act represents the fulfillment of the 1967 U.S. treaty obligation to supervise its non-governmental entities in space. Mr. Posey summarized the key functions of the bill for me earlier this week, saying that this bill is a major step in developing the legal framework necessary for commercial space to move forward with asteroid mining expeditions, and noting that entrepreneurs need legal certainty before they can commit their resources to carry out these missions. The Asteroids Act will provide the foundation for an entirely new space economy and could set a precedent for the orderly assignment of mineral rights—on asteroids and someday on the moon or Mars. Better yet, its passage will cost the taxpayer nothing—while the ensuing economic activity will benefit everybody through the creation of jobs and appropriate future taxes on asteroid mining. Passing this bill will be a clear signal to emerging commercial ventures that America supports the economic development of space. Mr. Larson, a Ph.D. physicist, is the coordinator for the Planetary Society in the national capital region, including Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 23:17:50 +0000
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