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Legislating Commercial Space Travel

posted by jstanforth — 04 December 2004 at 1:17 AM

KenInfinite discusses into how FAA jurisdiction over commercial space flights would work.

A bill that strives to create a regulatory framework for space tourism passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, after a contentious debate over its safety provisions

Where is the line between courage and folly? How much protection should the government afford its citizens if it might be the cost of a dream? Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., sponsor of the latest version of the bill, said, "After being informed of the risks, people can and should be able to decide to buy a ticket and achieve their lifelong dream of flying into space even though they know that it is a risky proposition."

Sounds reasonable to me, and presumably to the thousands of people who have already paid deposits to Virgin Galactic without waiting for legislation.