When I think of the private space industry, the word “safe” does not quickly come to mind. Actually, it never comes to mind. What does come to mind is Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip crash ("killing one and seriously injuring another") or Orbital Sciences Antares rocket explosion, all of which happened within days of each other last October.
Apparently, the private space industry isn’t worried. That’s because they have now shifted gears, looking to show their patriotic duty by begging Congress for immunity. And why shouldn’t they, when it’s so much easier to make sure that if someone does get hurt or killed during one of their commercial space flights, the companies are not responsible!
Unfortunately this is not science fiction. It’s an actual congressional bill, which the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is marking-up tomorrow without even holding hearings. The bill is called the “Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Act of 2015” or SPACE Act, and it’s apparently just the thriller that our congressional leaders want to see: an industry with a horrible safety record receiving immunity if they mess up while trying to shoot people into space. Sign me up, Leo!
Here’s what the bill would do, among other things. First, Section 7 of the bill says: “Any action or tort arising from a licensed launch or reentry shall be the sole jurisdiction of the Federal courts and shall be decided under federal law.” Well that’s interesting since no federal tort law exists in such cases. In other words, according to this language, the private space industry would get immunity even for reckless misconduct. Even for intentional wrongdoing! And if that’s not enough, Section 8 of the SPACE Act requires passengers on these flights to waive all their legal rights for personal injury, property damage or death.
Better hang on tight, Wile E. Coyote!
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