Privatization

Who will take our astronauts to the International Space Station if NASA is scrapped? Several companies are working on this and other space transportation issues. New space transportation needs include space missions to small bodies (asteroids and comets)  near Earth, trips to Low Earth Orbit, missions to the Moon, Mars and other celestial bodies.

International Space Development Conference 2010. NASA is the sponsor. Many of the themes involving private space travel and newly emerging industries http://isdc.nss.org/2010/.

Private companies have been preparing themselves to take on NASA-like activities for many years now. For example, Space Adventures has successfully taken people to the International Space Stations. See http://www.spaceadventures.com/index.cfm.

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5N1sNSYBKk

2004 was the start of space travel privatization. This is distinct from space commercialization.

Background on Space Commercialization

There is a history of space commercialization laws, policies and practices which began with the spaceage. For example, the U.S. had an interest in commercializing space technology since the beginning of the first epoch. Consent of the international community by induced by inviting various members to purchase shares a corporation established for the purpose of commercializing space technology - the COMSAT Corporation.

President Kennedy had "charged his administration with the need to develop a coherent and cohesive policy with respect to communications satellites” and by July 1961 he called for joint ownership with other nations of a communications satellite system, non-discriminatory access for all countries of the world, and a constructive role for the United Nations in international space communications.

This call was at all times with the assumption that "private ownership and operation of the United States portion of the system would be favored and that her leadership in satellite communications would result in establishment of the system at the earliest practicable data the earliest practicable data for the benefit of all peoples in the interest of world peace and brotherhood" (Jasentuliyana & Lee, 1979-1981, Vol. 1: at 304).

COMSAT later developed into INTELSAT via a U.S. - led international treaty. It was said it be a commercial venture "intended to produce a minimum of fourteen percent return each year for its shareholders" (Wong, 1998). In order to facilitate the commercial framework, these agreements included allowing the parties to participate in ownership (Wong, 1998). Countries therefore were allowed to own a piece of INTELSAT in proportion to their investment. This provided an incentive for various governments to want INTELSAT to succeed. And, it did. This was achieved through the purchase of shares in INTELSAT. The U.S. (through COMSAT) owns the largest share at "just over 20 % and the remaining foreign ownership is just under 80 percent".[i] This remainder is split in differing proportions between approximately 143 other countries.

Similarly, The International Maritime Satellite Organization (IMARSAT) was formed by an international treaty in 1979 pursuant to the Maritime Satellite Act.[ii] Seventy-nine countries are members of IMARSAT     and it is headquartered in London. It came into being as an IGO in order to "provide global safety and other communications for the maritime community. Starting with a customer base of 900 ships in the early 1980s, it then grew rapidly to offer similar services to other users on land and in the air . . .".[iii] Hence, a service that began as a life-line to seafarers by carrying distress communications from failing vessels at sea has turned into a commercial enterprise.[iv]

Shortly after the successful launching its first satellite, Telestar I, the U.S. Congress passed the Communications Satellite Act of 1962, in order to commercialize the satellite communications industry. This law authorized the creation of a Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) - a private corporation "to own and operate, either by itself or in conjunction with foreign governments or business entities, a commercial communications satellite system; to furnish, for hire, channels of communications; and to own and operate satellite terminal stations."

This private for-profit corporation called the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT)[v] has "an interim Board of Directors appointed by the President of the United States" (Cheng, 1997: 544). This was done through the creation and passage of the Communications Satellite Act of 1962. According to the language of this Congressional Act it had "twin goals of quickly obtaining the benefits of satellite communications and doing so by creating competition". The Act established the U.S. policy "of developing a global communications satellite system responsive to public needs and national objectives that would provide economical service to lesser developed countries, 'nondiscriminatory' access for all users and 'contribute to would peace and understanding'[vi] " (Morgan, 1994: 18). The Act provides that COMSAT "had the responsibility for planning, constructing, and operating the satellite system, either along or with other countries, and for leasing space satellite communications channels to common carriers" (Morgan, 1994: 18).

This corporation is authorized to issue stock, fifty percent of which are to be reserved for authorized United States communications common carriers and the rest to the general public. This established the framework for the "first step towards a global communications satellite system" - The Early Bird in 1965 (Cheng, 1997: 545). This 1962 Act has "twin goals of quickly obtaining the benefits of satellite communications and doing so by creating competition". The Act established the U.S. policy "of developing a global communications satellite system responsive to public needs and national objectives that would provide economical service to lesser developed countries, 'nondiscriminatory' access for all users and 'contribute to would peace and understanding'[vii] " (Morgan, 1994: 18). The Act provides that COMSAT "had the responsibility for planning, constructing, and operating the satellite system, either along or with other countries, and for leasing space satellite communications channels to common carriers" (Morgan, 1994: 18).

On August 20, 1964 the U.S. and an initial ten other countries entered into two international agreements: the "Agreement Establishing Interim Arrangements for a Global Commercial Communications Satellite System" (an international agreement registered with the United Nations) and the "Special Agreement" (a contractual arrangement between participating governments and certain public corporations) (Murphy, 2001). These agreements established INTELSAT as an organization created for the purpose of operating satellites and providing access to satellites on a commercial basis for profit" (Morgan, 194: 18).  Subsequently in a successor INTELSAT organization was created by two new international agreements: the Agreement Relating to the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization with Annexes (opened for signature August 20, 1971) and the "Operating Agreement Relating to the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (opened for signature August 20, 1971). Both agreements became effective in 1973.

[i] Memorandum Opinion and Authorization, Federal Communications Commission, Chairman Kennard, August 2, 2000, In the Matter of the Applications of INTELSAT, LLC for Authority to Operate, and to Further Construct, Launch, and Operate C-band and Ku-band Satellites that form a Global Communications System in Geostationary Orbit; see http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/International/Orders/2000/fcc00287.txt.

[ii] Pub. L. No. 87-624, Title V. 501, 92 Stat. 2392 (1978), Convention of the International Maritime Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) Sept. 3, 1976, 31 U.S.T. 1, 4, 1143 U.N.T.S. 105, 107 (effective July 16, 1979).

[iii] http://about.inmarsat.com/business

[iv] Inmarsat’s website (see note 44) states “Today Inmarsat is at the forefront of 3G wireless telephony, capitalizing on almost a quarter of a century's experience to deliver broadband communications solutions to enterprise, maritime and aeronautical users around the globe" and "a cornerstone of this strategy is the new Inmarsat I-4 satellites, the largest commercial communications spacecraft, currently scheduled to enter service in 2005. Retrieved December 13, 2005.

[v] COMSAT is the US Signatory to both the INTELSAT and INMARSAT Conventions. It is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission and receives its instructions on how to vote on INTELSAT and INMARSAT from the U.S. government; see Richard A. Morgan (1994) "Military Use of Commercial Communication Satellites: A New Look at the Outer Space Treaty and "Peaceful Purposes" 60 J. Air L. & Com. 237 at note 291.

[vi] Communications Satellite Act of 1962, Pub. L. No. 87-624, Title I, 102, 76 Statute 419, codified at 47 U.S.C. 701-708 (1988).

[vii] Communications Satellite Act of 1962, Pub. L. No. 87-624, Title I, 102, 76 Stat. 419   codified at 47 U.S.C. 701-708 (1988).

FAA Licenses for Private Spaceships:

The FAA issued its first private spaceship license in 2004. Subsequent to the passage of this US law - the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, private space tourism, involving private spaceships became a valid newly emerging industry.

SpaceShipOne won the XPrize-spurring motivation for developing private spaceships. 

The process of gradually turning over NASA's duties to the private sector began in the 1980s and 1990s. Recently in 2004 the President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond set forth a series of initiatives to turn over space travel to private companies. NASA has offered prizes to spur on this process of privatization. Remember Dennis Tito, who paid $10,000,000.00 to be the first private space tourist? This occurred in 2001. There were many political lobbying efforts which were successfully heard by Congress, the Senate and the Executive Branch of the U.S.