"I don't want to see people dead from a space experiment,The government oversees NASA. How's their record?
Gotta love the Congressman's spirit of adventure, though, even shutting down people who willingly take the risk. What a nanny.
Posted on 11/20/2004 2:43:20 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Paying passengers would be able to blast into space aboard privately operated rocket ships under legislation the House passed Saturday.
Propelled by last month's successful flights of a privately financed manned rocket over California's Mojave Desert, the bill by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., would give the Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) authority to regulate commercial human spaceflight.
No such jurisdiction now exists, even though airline mogul Richard Branson has already announced plans to offer six-figure commercial space flights by 2007, and thrill-seekers have begun plunking down deposits.
The bill was passed by a 269-120 vote but only after a contentious debate Friday over how much protection lawmakers should provide potential space tourists. A two-thirds vote was required for passage. It was uncertain whether the Senate would take up the bill before Congress adjourns.
"After being informed of the risks, people can and should be able to decide to buy a ticket and achieve their lifelong dream of flying into space even though they know that it is a risky proposition," Rohrabacher said.
An earlier version of the bill passed by the House in March required only that space tourists be informed of the risks involved in their travel.
Following negotiations between the House Science Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee, the new version would allow the Federal Aviation Administration to begin issuing regulations to protect spaceflight passengers and crew, but only eight years after enactment of the bill.
The FAA (news - web sites) also might issue regulations to protect the safety of passengers and crew before then if someone should be killed or injured seriously or some unplanned event should occur on a space flight.
That wasn't enough for some Democrats.
"I don't want to see people dead from a space experiment, and then the federal government comes in to regulate," said Minnesota Rep. James Oberstar (news, bio, voting record), the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's senior Democrat.
Rohrabacher contended too much regulation would "strangle this industry and drive these entrepreneurs offshore."
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The bill is H.R. 5382.
Does this get the govt out of the hair of the rocket guys or does it make them more involved?
Notice that the American Democratic Socialist Party is already looking to regulate it out of existence. Tin-pot, dictatorial parasites.
"I don't want to see people dead from a space experiment,The government oversees NASA. How's their record?
Gotta love the Congressman's spirit of adventure, though, even shutting down people who willingly take the risk. What a nanny.
Gubment trying to kill this industry before it even gets off the ground.
The law is important because the minute passengers pay to take a trip, the vehicle becomes a common carrier and regulated by the FAA. Without explicitly defining space vehicles and saying passengers fly at their own risk, FAA has to regulate, which is a disaster. SpaceShip One is an experimental vehicle, so it isn't regulated for passenger and crew safety. Once somebody buys a ticket to get on it, FAA has to step in if this law isn't passed. A number of really big venture capitalists are trying to get this passed (Bransen and Mosk are the names I know, there are others), and if it doesn't pass, they won't invest, and there is no industry.
Ok. I'll allow it.
Thanks for the explanation ;)
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