Letter From Rep. Sherwood Boehlert Regarding the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act

Space Science Committee via www.nasawatch.com ^ | November 19., 2004 | Sherwood Boehlert

[snopercod]

Dear Colleague:

A few minutes ago you received a letter from congressman Oberstar about H.R. 5382 which will be before the house shortly. Mr. Oberstar’s objection to the bill is well intentioned but reflects fundamental misunderstandings about the bill. Here are some facts:

• The house passed earlier this year by a vote of 402 to 1 and earlier version of this bill (HR 3752) that gave the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) less regulatory authority over commercial human space flights than does the bill before us today.

• The Science Committee which has primary jurisdiction over this bill which was given the sole initial referral had several hearings on the bill and has talked about it frequently with the press, engendering more public discussion.

• This bill concerns the commercial space flight industry, an industry that is now of interest only to entrepreneurs and daredevils and should not be regulated as if it were a commercial airline acting as common carrier, which is basically what Mr. Oberstar is advocating.

• The bill does give FAA unlimited authority to regulate these new rockets to ensure that they do not harm anyone on the ground and to ensure that the industry is learning from any failures. The bill also gives FAA additional authority after 8 years by which time the industry should be less experimental.

• The Oberstar approach would be the equivalent of not letting the Wright Brothers test their ideas without first convincing federal officials that nothing could go wrong.

• Without this Bill the FAA will continue to license private space flights without adequate authority to protect either the safety of the public or the finances of the government.

Please support HR 5382, just as you voted for the initial version in March. Today’s bill is an equivalent of a conference report as it reflects bipartisan negotiations with the Senate.

Sincerely,

SHERWOOD BOEHLERT

[snopercod]

The feds just can't let anybody do anything anymore without their permission.

[snopercod]

bump

[Ptarmigan]

NASA should disband and let space travel into private sector. They will do a better job and less money.

[Wneighbor]

Pffft.... more examples of too much gov't control.

[Arkie2]

This is one time that jobs moving offshore wouldn't be a bad thing. If the companies that want to commercialize space can't get a fair shake from congress they should pick up and move to a country willing to let them conduct their flights.

[snopercod]

Well, there is a lot of "infrastructure" needed to launch one of these private vehicles.

Radar, communications, pure gasses...things like that might be a problem.

[snopercod]

Ahhhhh so...velly special ping for you, round eye.

[RightWhale]

The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty requires this degree of regulation and more, besides altogether and completely blocking private property rights in outer space.

[Aeronaut]

[RightWhale]

Can't do that. Everybody signed the 1967 Treaty.

[snopercod]

Yeah, but we can "unsign" it any time we want, just like we did with the ABM treaty.

What about Bush's "ownership society", eh?

[Tribune7]

Is Oberstar a Dem? He sounds like one. He certainly sounds like someone who wants to kill what could be a major U.S. industry.

[RightWhale]

The Pres should do that. I would--my first morning on the job. The same morning I would create a land office for registering land and mining claims. There would still be time to meet with Putin, Schroeder, Blair, Chirac, OBL, Mao Tse Tung, and Castro before lunch.

[snopercod]

I note that Russia has not signed the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies

[hedgetrimmer]

Russia didn't sign? Its null and void then. Let's just get out of this treaty while the gettin' is good.

[RightWhale]

That's good. We didn't either. Perhaps we can get Bush. Blair, and Putin to withdraw from the 1967 Treaty as well and then get on with our private lives in outer space development.

[snopercod]

Hey, but Cameroon and Botswana signed it...

[RightWhale]

With all our love of freedom and disdain of repressive gov't on earth it is amazing we allow total repression in outer space. TOTAL REPRESSION. We are being held captive like East Germans behind their Berlin Wall.

[snopercod]

I'm not sure what you mean by "We didn't either".

The U.S. Congress ratified it on April 25, 1967.

[RightWhale]

Those who signed the Moon Treaty hoped it would hold us back so we don't pick off all the outer space plums before they can get their act together out there. Got a few thousand years to spare while they catch up?