Air and Space Law Commons^™

Front Matter

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

On Launching Environmental Law Into Orbit In The Age Of Satellite Constellations, Michael B. Runnels

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

In September 2022, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a new rule changing the deorbiting timeframe for satellites ending their missions in low Earth orbit from a twenty-five-year recommendation to a five-year legal requirement. The adoption of this rule, which seeks to cultivate a sustainable orbital environment for satellites, followed the United States’ July 2022 National Orbital Debris Implementation Plan, which tasked federal agencies with reviewing the effectiveness of their orbital debris-related rules. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 West Virginia v. EPA decision, however, federal rulemaking in the area of orbital debris may not survive judicial scrutiny …

Deregulating Consumers From The Airline Industry—Dot’S Proposed Rule In Response To U.S. Airlines’ Refusal To Refund Unused Tickets During Covid-19, Alicia L. Hinton, Diana Hyunjin Malcolm

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant delays and cancellation of airline tickets without proper refunds to consumers by U.S. airlines. In response to an unprecedented number of consumer complaints, in August 2022, the Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) proposed new rules regarding airline ticket refunds and consumer protections.Does this rule go far enough?

This article provides a summary of the events and policy changes leading up to the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) of 1978 and challenges the scope of federal preemption over the field of airline regulation that has created a boon to air carriers while essentially eliminating …

Pilot, Not Passenger: Canada's Role In Space, Michael Beyers

Canada-United States Law Journal

15th Annual Canada-United States Institute Distinguished Lecture

Tailspin: Examining The Distortive Effects Of The Airbus-Boeing Duopoly On Trade Dispute Resolution Between The United States And European Union, Sam Bhat

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

This Note surveys the perverse effects of the Airbus–Boeing dispute on international trade, examining how this unique and unprecedented duopoly challenges WTO agreements regarding state assistance to domestic manufacturers of large civil aircraft. This trade dispute has precipitated significant consequences for industries unrelated to aircraft manufacturing on both sides of the Atlantic. Theoretically, the WTO’s dispute resolution framework is designed to maintain an undistorted status quo between member states. The case of Airbus–Boeing, however, has shown that a duopoly conflict masquerading as a WTO dispute leads to escalating tariffs with substantial repercussions. This is the costliest dispute in the history …

Pre-Check Security Processes In Selected Brazil Airports- Changes And Gains, Camila Miliani, Fabio Sanches, Jonatta Haniere, Rodrigo Cortes, Tais Gargano, Vanessa Reis

Student Works

The recommendation of this Research Project is to implement the precheck program at 10 Airports in Brazil with more than 5 million passengers a year. The passengers’ satisfaction, security improvement and OPEX savings would be a reality.

The expectation of OPEX savings at these 10 Airports are R$ 3.360.000,00 per year, (US$ 634.000,00) due to the possibility of using the current infrastructure and yet, reduce one Protection Agent per inspection module, per airport.

The research topic was to understand the feasibility of implementing the precheck security process in Brazil Airports. Using the U.S. benchmark, and the current Brazilian legislation, GYN …

Certification Basis For A Fully Autonomous Uncrewed Passenger Carrying Urban Air Mobility Aircraft, Steve Price

Student Works

The Urban Air Mobility campaign has set a goal to efficiently transport passengers and cargo in urban areas of operation with autonomous aircraft. This concept of operations will require aircraft to utilize technology that currently does not have clear regulatory requirements. This report contains a comprehensive analysis and creation of a certification basis for a fully autonomous uncrewed passenger carrying rotorcraft for use in Urban Air Mobility certified under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 27. Part 27 was first analyzed to determine the applicability of current regulations. The fully electric propulsion system and fully autonomous flight control system …

Vulnerability As A Launching State: Why The United States Should Adopt Explicit Indemnification Procedures In Response To The Growth Of The Commercial Space Industry, Mollie Carney

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note argues that the current United States launch license requirements should be amended to include explicit indemnification procedures, should the United States be held liable for damages as a Launching State under the Liability Convention. Part I of this Note examines the evolution of the space industry from a field marked by Cold War tensions to one that is dominated by private industry, and the risks that are associated with the rapid growth of the commercial space industry. Part II will explain the current legal regime by (1) setting a framework of liability generally, (2) examining the Liability …

Law School News: Rewards Of The Road Less Traveled 10-13-2022, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Artemis Theory Of Warfare, Mark J. Sundahl

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Outer space, long the province of peaceful competition and international cooperation, is being rapidly militarized. We stand today at a rare inflection point in history that deserves careful thought as humanity moves forward. In short, we face the following choice: we can either protect and build on the special nature of space norms and customs to preserve space as a “laboratory of peace,” or we can militarize space as the new “highest ground” under largely the same rules that govern terrestrial warfare. The sad reality is that our history, being inextricably linked to warfare, predicts that the dream of a …

Public Acceptance Of Medical Screening Recommendations, Safety Risks, And Implied Liabilities Requirements For Space Flight Participation, Cory J. Trunkhill

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The space tourism industry is preparing to send space flight participants on orbital and suborbital flights. Space flight participants are not professional astronauts and are not subject to the rules and guidelines covering space flight crewmembers. This research addresses public acceptance of current Federal Aviation Administration guidance and regulations as designated for civil participation in human space flight.

The research utilized an ordinal linear regression analysis of survey data to explore the public acceptance of the current medical screening recommended guidance and the regulations for safety risk and implied liability for space flight participation. Independent variables constituted participant demographic representations …

A Regulatory Scheme For The Dawn Of Space Tourism, Molly M. Mccue

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Today, companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic have successfully launched paying customers into space, forging the future of the space tourism industry. While a growing space tourism industry promotes scientific advancement and opens an activity once reserved for trained astronauts to the public, the industry generates new issues and reveals the vulnerabilities of international space law. This Note explores the history of commercial spaceflight and the international agreements that comprise the current legal regime. It argues that space tourism presents a need for a new international agreement to address three vulnerabilities in the current international regime: environmental protections, protections …

Anti-Satellite Tests: A Risk To The Security And Sustainability Of Outer Space, Mckayla Swan

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

In November of 2021, The Russian Federation conducted an anti-satellite test (ASAT), destroying one of their defunct satellites in low earth orbit (LEO). This test, although not the first of its kind, created thousands of pieces of new space debris, threatening LEO satellites and the International Space Station (ISS). Russia’s test has resurfaced discussions on the militarization of space and its long-term sustainability. Absent legally binding multilateral agreements aimed at long-term peace and sustainability in space, the area will continue to develop in a hazardous direction. Therefore, The United States should initiate a multilateral treaty to develop a partial ban …

Geostationary Orbit Slot Reconceptualization In Accommodating The South, Yaries Mahardika Putro, Ridha Aditya Nugraha, Taufik Rachmat Nugraha

Indonesian Journal of International Law

Geostationary Orbit (GSO) located above the equator is deemed as limited resources with strategic position for satellites in outer space. As today, the majority who possess GSO slots are non-equatorial states, in this context developed countries. The distribution of orbital slots in the GSO has been discussed among scholars from the developing states for decades. In the past, the developing states ever formed the “Bogota Declaration” aimed to ensure the developing states possess special rights over the GSO slot. The declaration arose from the distribution of the GSO slot by unequal treatment and dissatisfaction to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) …

Space And Existential Risk: The Need For Global Coordination And Caution In Space Development, Chase Hamilton

Duke Law & Technology Review

This Article examines urgent risks resulting from outer space activities under the current space law regime. Emerging literature alarmingly predicts that the risk of a catastrophe that ends the human species this century is approximately 10–25%. Continued space development may increase, rather than decrease, overall existential risk due in part to crucial and identifiable market failures. Addressing these shortcomings should take priority over the competing commercial, scientific, and geopolitical interests that currently dominate in space policy. Sensible changes, including shifting space into a closed-access commons as envisioned by the 1979 Moon Treaty, may help in achieving existential security.

Aerospace And Defense Industries, Johny Chaklader, Michael Bealy, Neal Petro, Danish Hamid

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Independence And Liability In Civil Aviation Accident Investigations Through Annex 13 And The Montreal Convention, Joshua C. Moscow

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

International law governs the investigation of civil aviation accidents through the Chicago Convention and the International Civil Aviation Organization. Their standards, outlined primarily in Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention, require accident investigations to be conducted in an independent and impartial manner. Notwithstanding this requirement, a state with a nationalized airline may lead an Annex 13 investigation into an accident involving (essentially) itself. The conflict that arises when this occurs challenges Annex 13 independence-a challenge that may be difficult to avoid given the prevalence of nationalized airlines. While Annex 13 independence is threatened when a state assumes the role of …

Drones, Airspace Design, And Aerial Law In States And Cities, Brent Skorup

Akron Law Review

Federal and state governments have embraced drone technology in recent years to stimulate a domestic industry for new jobs and long-distance delivery services. However, the federal-state breakdown about who manages drone airspace and surface air rights has not been resolved, which, as the Government Accountability Office recently reported to Congress, threatens the progress of the U.S. drone industry. What is clear is that landowners, whether public or private, own low-altitude airspace and air rights. This article traces the legal treatment of surface airspace as real property back to Anglo-American legal treatises and court decisions in the mid-19th century. Therefore, absent …

The Next Small Step, Samiya Henry

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

As of right now, NASA and other space programs are estimating that by 2026, there will be people living in Space. Whether it be the Moon or Mars, one cannot have a functional society without a proper source of laws, especially since no one country has ownership over space. "One Small Step" will produce this source of laws, called the “Space Bill of Rights,” that will outline important matters like the trade of resources, medical care, government officials, and will ensure the preservation of our physical and figurative footsteps in space. This Space Bill of Rights is made up of …

Anti-Satellite Tests: A Risk To The Security And Sustainability Of Outer Space, Mckayla Swan

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.