by National Space Society | Mar 31, 2021 | Space Law, Space Policy
By Fisher Smith, NSS Legal Fellow In recent years, private companies have begun to push the boundaries of outer space, making it more affordable to launch rockets and developing new technologies that have revolutionized the industry. SpaceX, Blue Origin, Nanoracks,...
by National Space Society | Mar 23, 2021 | Space Law, Space Policy
By Leana Brown, NSS Legal Fellow In 1957 the USSR launched the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth, Sputnik. Since then, increased space activity and the resulting debris have led to a potential tragedy of the commons, creating liability concerns for all States...
by National Space Society | Feb 28, 2021 | Space Law, Space Policy
By Jessica Berger, NSS Legal Fellow Pollution isn’t the first thing people usually think of when they are talking about space exploration and development. But truth be told, there is a lot of trash circling the Earth. Currently there are around 1800 operative...
by National Space Society | Feb 5, 2021 | Space Development, Space Law, Space Policy
By Laura Brady, NSS Legal Fellow Krafft Ehricke once said, “If God wanted [hu]man[s] to become a spacefaring species, He would have given [hu]man[s] a Moon.” The former NASA aeronautics engineer and innovator believed the Moon to be the jumping-off point...
by National Space Society | Jan 5, 2021 | Space Development, Space Law, Space Policy
By Fisher Smith, NSS Legal Fellow Why should we spend the money, effort and time focusing on outer space exploration and development? After all, it’s a very expensive process to get resources, people and infrastructure into space. Wouldn’t that money be better spent...
by National Space Society | Nov 17, 2020 | Space Law, Space Policy
By Bailey Cunningham, NSS Legal Fellow In 1897, H.G. Wells envisioned a Martian invasion. Today we know there is no need to panic, but that doesn’t mean we should be complacent about planetary defense. The threat posed by Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) is very real. NEOs...
by National Space Society | Oct 26, 2020 | Space Law, Space Policy
By Laura Brady, NSS Legal Fellow It has been over forty years since astronaut Eugene Cernan left the Moon and returned to Earth. Since then, the Moon has been absent of humanity, but not for long. With NASA’s Artemis Moon Program, humans once again have their sights...
by National Space Society | Oct 18, 2020 | Space Law, Space Policy
By Bailey Cunningham, NSS Legal Fellow Humans are at the brink of a new era of space exploration. We are bound only by our imagination, ingenuity—and cost. As NSS Vice President of Space Development Greg Autry pointed out in an article in Forbes, “Launch cost has...
