Legal conundrums of space tourism

Title

Legal conundrums of space tourism

Creator

Padhy A.K.; Padhy A.K.

Description

Private commercial space tourism carrying passengers to outer space is no longer a distant or far-fetched fantasy, rather it is at verge of becoming an affordable reality with exponential development in space technology including development of Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), increasing involvement of private companies like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, Blue Origin etc. into research and funding of space tourism explorations and applications. It is also receiving huge attention from the public. These developments reflect the infinite possibilities and inevitability of space tourism in near future. However, space tourism may also pose many critical legal issues which must be addressed to ensure the consistent and sustainable development of space tourism, and to secure the rights of all stakeholders involved including operators, passengers, launching State etc. The research paper would highlight the crucial legal issues associated with the space tourism. The paper would critically analyze the efficiency of the present international space treaties in dealing with these issues. At the end, the paper would also attempt to provide few suggestions and solutions to these legal conundrums relating to space tourism. 2021 IAA

Source

Acta Astronautica, Vol-184, pp. 269-273.

Date

2021-01-01

Publisher

Elsevier Ltd

Subject

Commercial space tourism; Law; Legal issues; Space tourism; Sustainable development

Coverage

Padhy A.K., Gujarat National Law University, Attalika Avenue Knowledge Corridor, PDPU Rd, Koba, Gandhinagar, 382426, Gujarat, India, Vellore Institute of Technology, Kelambakkam - Vandular Rd, Rajan Nagar, Chennai, 600127, India; Padhy A.K., CHRIST University, Hosur Rd, Bengaluru, 560029, India, Maharashtra National Law University, 7 Wardha Rd, Nagpur, 441108, India

Rights

Restricted Access

Relation

ISSN: 945765; CODEN: AASTC

Format

Online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.04.024

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85105698229&doi=10.1016%2fj.actaastro.2021.04.024&partnerID=40&md5=b3acafe327e218160db38118500a9d1c