Air and Space Law Commons^™

U.S. Private On-Orbit Space Situational Awareness Systems And Services: Legal And Regulatory Challenges, Michael Mineiro

Space Traffic Management Conference

One component of Space Traffic Management (STM) is on-orbit Space Situational Awareness (SSA) systems and services. Advances in technology and a growing demand for SSA services, information, and data, coupled with U.S. Government policy that promotes the purchase and use of commercial SSA capabilities, means that private commercial sector is likely to have an important role to play. To date, there is no federal agency with clear jurisdiction over on-orbit remote sensing operations. This paper examines the current regulatory framework, identifies gaps and limitations, and identifies possible ways forward.

Small Satellites And Liability Associated With Space Traffic Situational Awareness, George Anthony Long

Space Traffic Management Conference

At the commencement of the space age, satellites were very small objects that subsequently grew in size and complexity. A re-emergence of small satellites is occurring given that technology now allows them to perform certain operations of large satellites. This paper will explore the risk and liability in space traffic situational awareness associated with the proliferation in the deployment of small satellites.

Small satellites encompass a range of space objects referred to as nanosatellites, microsatellites, picosatellites, cube satellites, femtosatellites and other designations. These satellites are generally placed into orbit as part of a “piggyback” payload on other launches or cargo …

Toward The International Regime For Space Traffic Management -What To Fix The Current International Regulations-, Yu Takeuchi

Space Traffic Management Conference

Space Traffic Management (STM) is an effective concept for providing a solution to the current congested, contested, and competed situation of outer space. However the status of international legal system governing outer space remains at its original formation of the 1960s. Filling this gap is an inescapable task soon or late and it is necessary to establish the international regime for STM to do so. Various issues of the UN Space Treaties and relevant soft laws have been discussed in the context of STM item-by-item, but few are oriented to the establishment of a comprehensive international regime for STM.

This …

How To Reach An International Civil Aviation Organization Role In Space Traffic Management, Lt. Col. Stephen Hunter

Space Traffic Management Conference

The late President Emeritus of the ICAO Council, Assad Kotaite, recommended a new annex to the Chicago Convention to extend ICAO responsibilities for producing International Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for suborbital and orbital civil space flights[i]. Additionally, the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense and the European Union have independently conceived standards that have yet to mature to an amicable stage. This impetus to develop SARPs is growing more urgent as space becomes more congested, contested and competitive. In order to best determine how to mature internationally acceptable SARPs for seamless operations from tropospheric to exo-atmospheric …

The Cape Town Convention And The Law Of Outer Space: Five Scenarios, Mark J. Sundahl

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The adoption of the Space Assets Protocol to the Cape Town Convention marked a new era in the evolution of the law of outer space by providing the first space treaty regarding private international law. This Protocol was not created in a legal vacuum, but was drafted against the background of the existing United Nations space treaties that were drafted in the 1960s and 1970s. Although the existing UN treaties address public international law and therefore cover subject matter that is quite distinct from the private law issues addressed by the Space Assets Protocol, there are still points at which …

Recovery For Mental Injuries That Are Accompanied By Physical Injuries Under Article 17 Of The Warsaw Convention: The Progeny Of Eastern Airlines, Inc. V. Floyd, Jean-Paul Boulee

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Blue Helmets In The Next Frontier: The Future Is Now, Sean R. Mikula

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The International Air Transportation Association's Attempt To Modify International Air Disaster Liability: An Admirable Effort With An Impossible Goal, Jonathan L. Neville

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

National Airline Policy, Timothy M. Ravich

University of Miami Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Flights Of Fancy And Fights Of Fury: Arbitration And Adjudication Of Commercial And Political Disputes In International Aviation, Paul S. Dempsey

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

U.S.-Eu Second Stage Air Transport Agreement: Toward An Open Aviation Area, Charles A. Hunnicutt

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Is Statutory Immunity For Spaceflight Operators Good Enough?, Maria-Vittoria “Giugi” Carminati

Legislation and Policy Brief

Over the past decade, the commercial spaceflight industry has seen a growth never witnessed before. The likes of Virgin Galactic and Xcor are promising suborbital flights to anyone willing to pay the price. Golden Spike is selling tickets to the moon. And SpaceX was re-supplying the ISS as a commercial provider as of 2012. States have responded to this growth by trying to make themselves more attractive to these commercial providers of space services (hereinafter generally referred to as “spaceflight entities”). Attractiveness has become synonymous with overt efforts to decrease spaceflight entities’ liability from injuries to their spaceflight participants (“SFPs”). …

Self-Defense Against Robots, A. Michael Froomkin, Zak Colangelo

A. Michael Froomkin

This paper examines when, under U.S. law, humans may use force against robots to protect themselves, their property, and their privacy. May a landowner legally shoot down a trespassing drone? May she hold a trespassing autonomous car as security against damage done or further torts? Is the fear that a drone may be operated by a paparazzo or a peeping Tom sufficient grounds to disable or interfere with it? How hard may you shove if the office robot rolls over your foot? This paper addresses all those issues and one more: what rules and standards we could put into place …

The Role Of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Uas) In Disaster Response And Recovery Efforts: Historical, Current And Future, Dennis Vincenzi, David C. Ison, Brent A. Terwilliger

Publications

A wide range of legislation has been proposed or put into place that restricts the use of unmanned systems. These actions by legislators and regulators will stifle the growth of this technology and the associated surrounding industry. The largest obstacle to the proliferation of UAS in the U.S. is the FAA. The FAA has designated the location of six test sites that are anticipated to allow for less restrictive and formative research to assess the technologies that the FAA has claimed need to exist in order to integrate UAS into the NAS. Further complicating the adoption of UAS for beneficent …

Developing Space: Political And Socio-Economic Rationales Of Emerging Space Programs, Sandra Cabrera-Alvarado, Sara Langston, Tanay Sharma

Publications

A presentation on developing space programs in Latin America and the need to work together cooperatively to maximize budgets to support scientific and technological research.

Sharing Public Safety Helicopters, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Drones, Henry H. Perritt Jr., Eliot O. Sprague

All Faculty Scholarship

Abstract

Drone technology is evolving rapidly. Microdrones—what the FAA calls “sUAS”—already on the market at the $1,000 level, have the capability to supplement manned helicopters in support of public safety operations, news reporting, and powerline and pipeline patrol, when manned helicopter support is infeasible, untimely, or unsafe.

Larger drones–"machodrones”–are not yet available outside battlefield and counterterrorism spaces. Approximating the size of manned helicopters, but without pilots, or with human pilots being optional, their design is still in its infancy as designers await greater clarity in the regulatory requirements that will drive airworthiness certification.

This article evaluates drone technology and design …

Drones, Henry H. Perritt Jr., Eliot O. Sprague

Henry H. Perritt, Jr.

Houston, We Have A (Liability) Problem, Justin Silver

Michigan Law Review

The development of private manned space flight is proceeding rapidly; there are proposals to launch paying passengers before the end of 2014. Given the historically dangerous nature of space travel, an accident will probably occur at some point, resulting in passengers’ injury or death. In the event of a lawsuit stemming from such an accident, a court will likely find that a space flight entity operating suborbital flights is a common carrier, while an entity operating orbital flights is not. Regardless of whether these entities are common carriers, they face a threat of high levels of liability, as well as …

Delayed Flights And Delayed Action: The U.S. Department Of Transportation’S Tarmac Delay Regulations And Their Impact On Air Travel, Daniel Friedenzohn

Daniel Friedenzohn

No abstract provided.