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THE SHIFT TO CAPITALISM IN OUTERSPACE: A THREAT TO COMMON HERITAGE OF MANKIND UNDER INTERNATIONAL SPACE LAW -BY G DHANASEELI
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THE SHIFT TO CAPITALISM IN OUTERSPACE: A THREAT TO COMMON
HERITAGE OF MANKIND UNDER INTERNATIONAL SPACE LAW
AUTHOR
NAME : G DHANASEELI
Abstract:
The
private space area didn't exist at the time the agreement of outer space was
written and it is not acceptable that any of the rules would apply to private
groups. Furthermore, also, given the aspirations of many nations and
corporations, it's basically impossible that private space going to endure any
longer. Space is turning into a space for capitalism with both positive and
more in negative way. We are entering into another period of the
commercialization of space, outfitted towards producing benefits from
dispatching satellites, space travel industry, outer space mining activities,
and other related activities .Despite its humanistic, universalizing
assumptions, New Space privatization doesn't help mankind all things considered
but instead a particular arrangement of rich business people, who deliberately
convey humanist figures of speech to induce energy for their exercises. Yet,
right now is an ideal opportunity to consider the issues that could emerge from
an industrially driven space race, and make the fundamental strides presently
to stay away from conceivably lamentable outcomes in the future. Currently , space law rotates around the
normal heritage of humankind regulation, a way of thinking whose current
understanding struggles with the capitalistic beliefs that are driving the new
blast in private space advancement and more serious dangers may expand in which a question arise that to what
extend private outer space exploration
should be legalized to held private
players responsible for the activities on board.There is no proof for this up
until now – yet as the field creates and extra private organizations move into
space investigation – there will be a higher likelihood of mishap or emergency.
Notwithstanding, the expenses of space investigation are cosmic and devastating
to less fortunate nations, making them progressively rely upon business
launchers. However, in the event that a private organization dispatches an item
that therefore causes harm in space, the striving economy should get the bill.
The agreement may in this way should be refreshed to make private organizations
more obligated. So the author see this as a puzzling effect of '
capitalistkind' which in turn affects the common heritage principle.
KEYWORDS: Private, Organisations,
capitalism, Newspace, Space Investigation.
I INTRODUCTION:
It
has been 54 years since this Outer Space Treaty established the framework for
the development of space law, and during those 50 years, it has never been
violated. This is partially because only a very small number of countries have
access to space, and these countries have only recently begun to utilise the
huge expanse of space. But as the Human Race develops, it becomes imperative in
nature for space to be exploited to greater heights. In the current situation,
this also includes exploitation by private parties. Therefore, it is crucial
that we establish guidelines for the proper exploitation of space by private
parties up front in order to address this problem before it actually arises.[1].It will be more difficult to ensure that their
actions benefit all of humanity. The exploitation of outer space takes many
forms, ranging from the sale of plots on
moon to the mining of appropriated asteroids, and so on.[2] Right now, the
most realistic and well-funded use of space is for mining minerals
and collecting water from asteroids in the asteroid belt or other celestial
bodies. There are currently four companies working on this, all of which are
registered in the United States. Explorations Technology Corp., or SpaceX, is
another influential and significant US company whose goal is to enable life on
other planets in the vast galaxy. SpaceX, which is owned by well-known
entrepreneur Elon Musk, is the fastest growing provider of launch services, and
its focus could easily shift to the exploitation of outer space in the near
future.[3] The main goal of these private parties has to be
considered while solving the issue of responsible exploitation of outer space.
Research Questions: To what extend private outer space exploration should
be legalized to held private players
responsible for the activities on board
? If so, privatization is a key to space Exploration ?
Object
Of The Paper:
Finally, the object of research into the
identification of what extend the space can be exploited and the shift of
privatization of outer space is really a help or hindrance to Mankind .
Review of Literature:
·
Lewis D. Solomon,
The Privatization of Space Exploration- Business, Technology, Law and Policy,
Routledge Publisher ,First Edition, 2011.
·
Dr.Sachdeva
, G.S. Outer Space-Law,Policy And Governance –KW Publishers Pvt Ltd; First
Edition, 2013.
·
Peter
Ward,The Consequential Frontier- Challenging The Privatization Of Space, Black
Stone publiser,2020.
Research Methodology:
The project is
based on descriptive research method which is also considered to be a
quantitative research method.
II OUTER SPACE TREATY – A HELP OR
HINDRANCE TO CAPITALISM SHIFT ON SPACE:
According
to Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty, states are responsible for national
activities in outer space that benefit all mankind. These activities can be
undertaken by both governmental and nongovernmental entities. Simply put,
states are liable for the actions of companies registered with them. The author
goes on to say that states must authorise and supervise non-governmental
entities (NGEs), also known as private parties, who conduct activities in
space. Some countries, such as the United States, have appropriate legislation
in place for the authorization and supervision of private parties, but others
have taken very small steps toward this goal or have no legislation at all. The
manner in which this legislation is developed is also important. States should also ensure that NGEs or private parties
have appropriate access to regulated outer space activities. However, this
influence should not be overstated because it is also critical not to stifle
investment.
This
raises the question of how far exploitation of outer space should be legalised
in order to be responsible. According to Article II of the Outer Space Treaty,
private parties cannot claim things in space, and areas in space can be
appropriated by both states and NGEs.[4] Article V allows non-governmental entities to collect
samples for scientific research. [5] As a result of the Moon Agreement and the ability to
collect minerals under the supervision of an international mediator, there is
no clear limitation or border line between what can and cannot be exploited. As
a result, states can interpret space laws in a flexible rather than rigid
manner; an example of this was a framework laid down in July 2017 (i.e.,
Luxembourg's introduction of a legal framework protecting companies seeking to
exploit resources found in space).[6] According to this new legislation, Luxembourg
acknowledges that private parties may possess resources in space and pledges to
safeguard those parties who choose to use resources discovered in outer space.
Once a nation may hope to give itself a global lead and progress in the field
of space exploitation, it is anticipating the creation and progress of a very
lucrative industry.
III UNIVERSALISATION OF CAPITALISM IN
SPACE – AN OXYMORON:
Space travel inevitably reduces human
differences to a common denominator or to a shared species. Even in numerous
Hollywood science fiction movies, such as Arrival (2016), a first encounter
with an intelligent alien species has a tendency to flatten all human
differences, restoring mankind to its rightful universality. In order to meet
with extraterrestrial messengers, ambassadors of the Earth as a whole, not
specific nation representatives, came forward. However, even in the absence of
such an encounter, the pursuit of habitable worlds or, more precisely,
lucrative locations beyond Earth would compel the development of a shared
understanding of the human predicament. This process started with the
development of Pale Blue Dot photography in 1990s .[7] The words of astronomer Carl Sagan, famously remarked it as: It has
been one of the dominant tropes in space discourse since the 1950s, and remains
strong today, as the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) [8] says its job is to "support the vision
of a more equitable future for all humanity through shared results in
space." This representative trend uses humanism to generate enthusiasm for
space-related activities. However, such representations are increasingly being
taken over by capitalist enterprise, so that it is not humanity, but its
modulation by space capitalists that will launch into the unknown darkness. It
is not humanity that ventures out, but the capitalist genre.
NASA was expected to request $ 150 million in
its 2019 budget in early 2018, to "enable the development and maturation
of business entities and capabilities that will ensure that the commercial
successors to the ISS are one of many signs that peace is becoming a space for
capitalism." [9] According to one
estimate, a single asteroid is worth more than $20 trillion in rare earth and
platinum group metals (Lewis, 1996),[10] making it an extremely
attractive prize for profit-driven businesses. space, making various appeals to
"industry and the private sector," elevating the "space
economy" to a central pillar of its Space2030 programme (including the use
of resources that create and provide the value and benefits to the world
population during the exploration, understanding, and use of space), even if
the United Nations agency reverts to a humanist, quasi-social-democratic vision
of the distribution equitable benefits and profits from the extraction, ex
(UNOOSA, 2018).This strategic humanism
can be found in a variety of statements made by New Space entrepreneurs. To
illustrate, "From an entrepreneur's perspective, the moon has never
really been explored," said Naveen Jain, president and co-founder of Moon
Ex, a lunar marketing company.[11]
He also stated that
the moon could hold resources for the benefit of the Earth and all humans. It
should be noted that this New Space entrepreneur used the trope of all
humanity, which was imitated in the 1979 Moon Accord, a United Nations treaty.
Of course, Jain is incorrect in terms of a purely factual meaning: Google Moon
provides high-resolution images of the lunar surface, and the moon has already
been explored, in the sense that it has been mapped, albeit in a rudimentary
manner with room for additional data collection. However, these mapping
techniques were not used for capitalist purposes, such as mapping minerals or
producing detailed diagrams that could one day turn the Moon into a "gas
station" for commercial space companies, which is proposed by Wilbur
Ross, Trump's Mall secretary, is the one who also proposed
capitalist maps of the Moon. However, according to Klinger, a space research
scholar, even though no one is currently actively examining the moon, at least
six national space programmes, fifty private companies, and an engineering
degree programme are determined to figure out how to do so. Klinger draws
attention to mapping efforts that have revealed a high abundance of rare have
already noted that, no, it is humanity, conceived as a species, that makes its
way through the world.
IV PRIVATE COMPETITION IN DETERMINING
DOMINANCE IN SPACE:
Bezos and Musk spent their time
apart fighting for the top two spots on Forbes' rich list. For decades, they
have also played the "mine is bigger than yours" card in their race
for private space. During a pandemic that has destroyed the lives and livelihoods
of millions, Bezos' personal wealth has nearly doubled. He is now resigning in
order to devote more time to Blue Origin, a company that aims to provide large
human colonies throughout the solar system. Musk's rival company SpaceX's
stated goal is to "make humanity multi-planetary." To accomplish
this, he reasoned, we need really big rockets - or, in SpaceX's original
terminology, Big Falcon Rockets (BFR) - capable of transporting tens of people,
hundreds of tonnes, and millions of miles through the solar system.[12]
The BFRs have now been replaced by
a series of spacecraft. Musk also wants these spaceships to be reusable
in order to demonstrate his environmental credentials. So much so that SpaceX
planned to detonate four consecutive spacecraft prototypes in quick succession
during the first four months of 2021, before attempting to land them again.
Silicon Valley's motto is, of course, "move fast and break things."
However, you must eventually return the goods. The SN15 spacecraft finally
achieved that goal this year, and SpaceX was awarded a massive $ 2.9 billion
contract from NASA three weeks later, propelling Blue Origin into the race for
shadow space.[13]
To avoid being outclassed, Bezos
imagined what he would hope would be the victorious comeback. He and his
brother Mark would be two of the first people on Blue Origin's reusable New
Shepard rocket when it made its first manned space flight on July 20. Nobody
enjoys coming in second place. Even less the world's most powerful individuals.
Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin, suddenly burst in without even a permit to
steal everyone's thunder. Branson made history on July 11 by becoming the first
billionaire to travel into space, nine days before Bezos' big day. And he
assured us that for $250,000 you too might spend minutes ecstatically staring
at the world that you left behind. It appears that
the Musk has already registered. Bezos is not required to do that. He has
completed his flawless space mission.
This is not to be sniffed at considering the technical
difficulties they are trying to overcome, but it is clear that they are simply
not ready to send people into space with this success rate. Nevertheless,
private space travel still has clear advantages. Multiple madness, and it shows
how effective space exploration privatization can be. Mars Such an ambitious
mission will require international collaboration between space agencies, and
private space companies will likely be able to conduct supply missions to Mars.
You may not send the people yourself, but they will still play a crucial role.
Private space companies have their own weaknesses.
i)
IS Privatization the Key to Space Exploration?
This is not to
be sniffed at considering the
technical difficulties they are
trying to overcome, but it is clear that they are simply not ready to send people into space with this success rate. NASA can be irritatingly slow, but that's just part of the process for now. Nevertheless, private space travel still has clear advantages. Its Dragon capsule, which is designed to transport
people beyond low Earth orbit, is 320 times cheaper than NASA's
Orion capsule.[14] Multiple
madness, and it shows how effective space
exploration privatization can be. SpaceX is also saving millions of dollars by repurposing its rockets. The missile reuse
technique has yet to be perfected, but once it does, these types
of savings will legitimize private exploration.
Building stations on the moon, mining
asteroids, and other aspects of science fiction become scientific facts. Mars Such an
ambitious mission will require international collaboration between space agencies, and private space companies will likely be able to conduct supply
missions to Mars.You may not send the people yourself, but they
will still play a crucial role.
Private space companies have their weaknesses. It's easy to fall
in love with the Bezos and Musk hype, but keeping that excitement at
bay is important. Once these companies grow, gain experience, and reduce their risks, the possibilities are endless.
V CONCLUSION AND
SUGGESTION:
Last but not least,
the recent news that SpaceX intends to launch an unmanned Dragon capsule to
Mars by 2018 raises the possibility that the technical gaps between Orion and
Dragon may not be as significant as NASA had hoped. Its primary use as a kite
is still an ascend and descent capsule to securely transport people up and down
from earth orbit while providing radiation shielding for extraterrestrial
exploration. Both Orion and Dragon are insufficient for any interplanetary trip.
They are just too small to hold a crew on a six to two-year voyage to Mars or
beyond, as was already mentioned. Furthermore, SpaceX's
own heavy-lift rocket, the Falcon Heavy, demonstrates that a heavy-lift rocket
can be built for a lot less money and in a lot less time than NASA would have
needed to develop SLS. The first test flight programme for the Falcon Heavy, which
has roughly two-thirds the power of the first two SLS missiles, was established
for the second quarter of 2017. SpaceX has said that its customers will only
pay US $ 90 million - Billed per launch, indicating that the missile didn't
cost much more to develop than the Falcon 9 and significantly less than the
SLS.[15]
The factors are mentioned below, along with
suggestions for what the government can do to benefit from them. One other
thing: if you look closely at these suggestions, you'll see a connection. Every
one of them aims to give American firms more freedom to respond to market needs
while shifting the government's authority as a regulator. The primary concept
that unifies these threads is freedom, a basic ideal upheld since the founding
of the country. According to academics, the decision to go to the moon during
the Cold War was a "defence of freedom."The new space station was given the name "Freedom," and its
purpose was to serve as a platform for the promotion of private businesses in
orbit.[16] Freedom is really just a very basic concept. Giving individuals and
businesses the freedom to operate in a competitive atmosphere encourages clever
and smart conduct, and they will respond in kind.
The United States'
history demonstrates the viability of freedom. It's time for them to do so once
more in space. While privatised space exploration may one day be a preferable
alternative, the transition can be challenging. Although NASA's space programme
has been the most successful in the last 50 years and currently seems to be the
most effective, it is imperative that NASA return to its previous programmes or
risk losing its space exploration branch to private corporations. A government
space programme is the greatest option for the foreseeable future, but at some point in the future moving to the private sector will be more beneficial. Privatizing
space exploration could also become a significant risk, and capitalist
type change in space will represent
both visionary growth and
a road block as it attracts some greedy competitors in space.
REFERENCE:
[1]
Kurzweilai. China proposes space collaboration with India, 4 Nov.2012. http://www.kurzweilai.net/china-proposes-spacecollaboration .
[2] Data extracted from the Unilever website
Feb.2013 http://www.unileverusa.com/mediacenter/pressrelease
s/2013/axetoblast22fansintospace.aspx
[3] L.D.Solomon. The privatization of space
exploration. Transaction Publishers. New Brunswick, 2012
[4] National Space Policy of the USA, 28 Jun.
2010 Web Jan. 2013 http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/national
_space_policy_6-28-10.pdf
[5] Data extracted from the NASA website Feb.
2013 http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/index.html.
[7] S. Tkatchova, Space-Based Technologies and
Commercialized Development: Economic Implications and Benefits. Hershey, NY,
2011.
[8] D. Cheng. China’s Military Role in Space
in Strategic Studies Quarterly, 6(1) 2012.
[9] ASD Eurospace, The European space industry
in 2010, Eurospace fact and figures Directory 15 ed. (2011).
[10]T. Devezas, F. C. L. de Melo, M. L.
Gregori, M. C. V. Salgado, J. R. Ribeiro, and C. B. C. Devezas, “The struggle
for space: Past and future of the space race,” Technological Forecasting and
Social Change, vol. 79, no. 5, pp. 963–985, Jun. 2012.
[11] Stern, S. A. (2013). The low-cost ticket
to space. Scientific American, 308(4), 68–73. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23539792 .
[1] Robert
Zimmerman, Capitalism in Space,Private
Enterprise and Competition Reshape the Global Aerospace Launch Industry (Oct
30.2021,10.45AM), https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/capitalism-in-space.
[2] Peter Lothian NelsonWalter
E. Block, Space
Capitalism,How Humans will Colonize Planets,
Moons, and Asteroids(Oct30.2021,11.50AM), https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-74651-7 .
[3] Elizabeth Howell , Ailsa Harvey,
Elon Musk: Revolutionary private space entrepreneur, (Nov.1,2021,7PM),
[4] Treaty
on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of
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[5]Agreement
governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies(Moon
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[6]Sam Woolfe, Asteroid Mining and Capitalism in Space,(Nov.12,2021,6.45PM), https://www.samwoolfe.com/2020/03/asteroid-mining-space-capitalism.html.
[7] Id.at 3.
[8] Treaty on Principles Governing
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[9] Mike wall ,Trump's 2019 NASA Budget Request Puts Moon
Ahead of Space Station,(Nov.11,2021,9.10PM),
https://www.space.com/39671-trump-nasa-budget-2019-funds-moon-over-iss.html .
[10] Brett Heino, Book space,place and capitalism. pp :47, (2021).
[11] Pope Brock,The Moon Is Full of Money: Capitalism in
Space,(Nov19,8.00PM), https://medium.com/nautilus-magazine/the-moon-is-full-of-money-8de0f9f997be .
[12] Id.at 9.
[13] Mike Wall,SpaceX
launches Starship SN15 rocket and sticks
the landing in high-altitude test flight, (Nov.19,2021,8.30PM), https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn15-launch-landing-success .
[14] Capitalism
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[15] Professor NAyef AL-Rodhan, The Privatisation of Space: When Things Go
Wrong,(Nov.22,2021,9.50PM),
Article Information
THE SHIFT TO CAPITALISM IN OUTERSPACE: A THREAT TO COMMON HERITAGE OF MANKIND UNDER INTERNATIONAL SPACE LAW -BY G DHANASEELI
Authors: G DHANASEELI
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2022/10/21
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
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