IT’S A WRAP FOLKS…SPACE LAW BLOG REVIEW 2020
By Alexandra Dolce • December 28, 2020 •Writers in Residence
Space law governs space related activities. Space law is considered international law because like general international law it is comprised of treaties, conventions, general assembly resolutions as well as the rules and regulations of international organizations. National legislation is relevant vis a vis space law because of the increase of private actors in the exploration and travel to space. It is estimated that private actors will spend close to 1 trillion dollars, this year alone, in conducting space related activities. These private actors need to be regulated. The treaties mentioned above cover only state activities in space, not the actions…
Conflict Resolution Vis a Vis Outer Space Activities
By Alexandra Dolce • November 28, 2020 •Careers, Politics and Government
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has adopted rules for the arbitration of disputes relating to outer space activities. The rules are “optional”. As such, parties in a space related dispute may choose to use them or not. Pursuant to the Rules, standing is very broad. Hence, states, intergovernmental agencies, NGOs, corporations and private parties may use them as a forum. The Rules provide a forum for various methodologies to be used by parties. For instance, parties may select a panel of arbitrators or just one. Most importantly, awards of the Court are final and binding, which creates…
Soft Power in the Realm of Outer Space
By Alexandra Dolce • October 30, 2020 •Writers in Residence
In my opinion a space arms race is inevitable. It is inevitable because it is tied to economic and national security. The goal at this point is not to avoid what has been developing rapidly for the last 30 years or so, but to contain and manage it. The strategic placement of space weapons will not deter war but will increase fear. As I have mentioned in previous posts, space is now an integral part of our lives, and many countries are aiming to become space faring countries. As such a methodology must be in place to manage threats and…
Help Me Build My Space Colony….
By Alexandra Dolce • September 30, 2020 •Writers in Residence
Let’s have some fun this month. What would MY perfect space colony look like…? Here goes… First and foremost, I think it should be located on a safe but very exotic planet. Use your imagination when it comes to exotic. All people, whether indigenous, or migrated are from the jump start considered EQUAL and will not be separated based on race, color, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. Equal means Equal. The form of government would most likely be a democracy or a hybrid of such, but it is important that citizens refer to the previous mistakes made by democracies and…
Look Mom ! It’s A Drone
By Alexandra Dolce • August 30, 2020 •Writers in Residence
In space and aviation a drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) is spacecraft or aircraft that has no pilot. Drones are primarily used in the military. Drones are advantageous for military use because pilots are not exposed to combat zones and drones don’t become exhausted. They fly as long as they have fuel and are mechanically sound. Space bound drones, alternatively are used as cargo space crafts and satellites. (www.space.com) The drone market is booming! In 2018 the drone market was valued at approximately 20 billion dollars. Consumers are using drones for a variety of things-photography, recreation, surveillance and even distributing fertilizer for…
SPACE TOURISM
By Alexandra Dolce • July 30, 2020 •Writers in Residence
Space tourism is defined as humans traveling to space for recreation. Yep, instead of going to Paris for dessert, just fly to space, have brunch, champagne and take copious amounts of selfies. Space tourism is currently estimated to be a 23 billion dollar industry. According to an article published in 2019 by CNBC.com tourists will pay a MERE $52 million for a trip to the International Space Station. With the advent of all of this very expensive traveling several legal issues come to mind. The first is liability. How do both space carriers and passengers protect themselves and protect their…
A CHANCE TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT
By Alexandra Dolce • June 27, 2020
There’s a lot happening in the world right now especially the U.S.; namely, the COVID 19 Pandemic and the fight for racial and economic equality for primarily people of African descent. Equality based on race has always been a problem for American society largely because of slavery. However, the egregious and heinous acts associated with the murder of George Floyd seem to have the racial tide changing in a different direction. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. My platform for ms-jd.org is all things Outer Space, but in this post, albeit short, I want to reaffirm that we as a society…
THE ARTEMIS ACCORDS
By Alexandra Dolce • May 29, 2020 •Writers in Residence
On May 17, 2020 NASA unveiled The Artemis Accords. The Artemis Accords are a set of principles and processes where The United States and other countries agree to a common set of principles that refer to how the moon is to be explored. www.spaceref.com/artemis According to NASA, the raison d’etre of this Accord is to “establish a common set of principles to govern the civil exploration and use of outer space”. Bilateral Artemis Accords agreements, based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty are aimed at “creating a safe and transparent environment which facilitates exploration, science, and commercial activities for the…
Highlights From a Recent Presentation- Presidential Directive -4
By Alexandra Dolce • April 28, 2020 •Writers in Residence
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into effect the creation of the National Space Force, pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for fiscal year 2020. Section 9091 (2) of Title XVII of the NDAA provides“ The Space Force includes both combat and combat-support functions to enable prompt and sustained offensive and defensive space operations and joint operations in all domains”. On February 19, 2019 President Donald Trump issued Space Policy Directive-4 (“Directive”). The Directive, unlike Title XVII, clearly expresses an aggressive security policy to protect U.S. “interests” in outer space. “Under this proposal, the United States Space…