Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Operating Standards For The High Altitude Ballooning Community, Jeremy Straub, John Nordlie, Ernest Anderson

Jeremy Straub

This paper provides an overview of work to define a set of standards for adoption by the academic high altitude balloon community. These standards go above-and-beyond the requirements imposed by §101 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, incorporating best practices and suggesting how §101 requirements should be interpreted and applied in several situations.

One area where FAR§101 is extremely vague is with regards to the operations of balloons with small payloads. These payloads are exempt from most requirements; however, they are required to not create a “hazard”. Problematically, what exactly qualifies as a “hazard” is not defined in FAR§101 or elsewhere …

Do We Have An Itar Problem: A Review Of The Implications Of Itar And Title Vii On Small Satellite Programs, Jeremy Straub, Joe Vacek

Jeremy Straub

The small satellite space certainly falls within the realm of ITAR considerations. Some programs operate under the (perhaps mistaken) belief that ITAR doesn’t apply to them (or that they will never be caught). Others may assert that they are working under the basic research exemption. Still others have implemented ITAR information and facility access controls. At best, ITAR introduces a level of uncertainty regarding small satellite programs; at worst, it may be a predator lurking in the proverbial ‘tall grass’ waiting to pounce. This paper reviews the current state of ITAR legislation (including efforts to reform and revise the law) …

The International Trafficking In Arms Regulations: Precluding Innovation In Academic Spacecraft Engineering — Or Are They?, Jeremy Straub, Joe Vacek

Jeremy Straub

Government regulations and uncertainty about their enforcement can be a significant barrier to innovation. In business, it is undesirable to consume time and other resources developing a product that cannot be sold or which requires navigating significant bureaucracy for each sale. In academ-ia, where limited funding is available prior to the submission of a grant pro-posal and receipt of an award, proposal-stage compliance costs can derail a project long before it begins. This paper reviews the International Traffick-ing in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and their impact on spacecraft research in academia, private research labs and industry. It reviews the exemptions available, …

Space Settlements, Property Rights, And International Law: Could A Lunar Settlement Claim The Lunar Real Estate It Needs To Survive?, Alan Wasser, Douglas Jobes

Alan Wasser

The settlement of space and the expansion of the habitat of humanity beyond Earth will benefit all mankind but will be astronomically expensive. Private enterprise would do it if there were a sufficient profit potential, something only Lunar and Martian real estate is valuable enough to provide. Utilization of this tremendous potential value as an incentive has been prevented by the mistaken assumption that the 1967 Outer Space Treaty's prohibition of "national appropriation" and requirement of national supervision of private activities prohibit private property in space. This paper attempts to demonstrate, by expert legal consensus, that the 1967 Outer Space …