4 thoughts on “Commercial Space Activities”

  1. Congressman Babin spoke at this year’s FAA Commercial Space Conference. He laid out the history of the OST, noting that it satisfied the Soviet Union because it’s government-control orientation, but was contrary to the American idea of liberty. He expanded on what the American idea of liberty was, and pointed out that human beings don’t need permission to innovate, or to explore. My aging memory doesn’t allow me to do justice to his speech, other than to note that at the time, I realized that he was the very first politician I had ever heard enunciate the idea of Americanism being defined by liberty. It was apparent that this was a deeply held philosophical conviction, which guides his every thought and action. He’d have my vote for any office.

  2. I liked this particular excerpt from the Chairman’s speech: “[T]he Constitution places the responsibility upon Congress to make legislative determinations regarding what requires federal authorization and supervision. It should not be the case that everything anyone does in outer space requires federal approval. Article 6 grants States the discretion to decide what must be authorized to assure conformity with treaty obligations and how it is to be supervised. Transferring this authority to the executive branch raises serious concerns given how vast the scope of regulatory oversight would be.”

  3. Asking permission to leave the planet is a bit like asking the former east Germany to cross the iron curtain.

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