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Space travel bill lifts off

Posted on: Sunday, 21 March 2004, 06:00 CST

Space travel bill lifts off

Associated Press

Sunday, March 21, 2004

Washington -- Out-of-this-world vacations have moved a step closer to reality with House passage of legislation setting guidelines for the future space tourism industry.

Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Science Committee, said that while he first thought the legislation was "a little flighty," he came to realize that "this is about a lot more than joy rides in space. This is about the future of the U.S. aerospace industry."

Laws already exist to regulate private sector space endeavors such as satellite launches, but there is no legal jurisdiction for regulating commercial human spaceflight.

American businessman Dennis Tito in 2001 became the world's first space tourist when he rode a Russian rocket to the international space station. He was followed last year by South African Internet magnate Mark Shuttleworth, who -- like Tito -- paid the Russians $20 million for the ride.

The House bill gives regulatory authority over human flight to the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

To make it easier for companies to test new types of reusable suborbital rockets, the bill gives the office the authority to issue experimental permits that can be obtained more quickly and with less bureaucracy than licenses.

It also requires the Office of Commercial Space Transportation to come up with regulations for crew pertaining to training and medical conditions. Space tourists would have to be informed of the risks involved in their travel.

The bill also extends for three years an existing law under which commercial space launch companies are required to carry liability insurance, capped at $500 million, with assurances that the government will compensate for losses above that.

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