Broadcast 863 (Special Edition)

Guest: Professor Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz. Professor Joanne Gabrynowicz returned to The Space Show as the last guest of 2007 in order to afford us a legal look at space law for the year. A few topics discussed on this show included the new U.S. Federal regulation for commercial personal spaceflight, new remote sensing laws in Germany and France, pending space laws in Japan, and the upcoming 2nd International Conference on the State of Remote Sensing laws. Professor Gabrynowicz certainly earned her professorship on the program today as she guided and instructed us through a comprehensive understanding of satellite launching and licensing as well as the laws surrounding remote sensing. Based on a few questions from me, Professor Gabrynowicz explained the definition of "commercial " as applied in the United States and elsewhere. This led to a discussion about US laws for satellites as opposed to the satellite laws in other countries. Nigeria was used as the example country. This brought forth a question about trusting any laws or regulations from Nigeria due to the famous Nigerian email scam which never seems to die. Joanne discussed this scam and other relevant issues in detail so don't miss this part of the discussion. During our discussion on imaging and remote sensing laws, questions were asked dealing with Google Earth, privacy, and much more. Our discussion then took us into the world of informed consent for space tourism. Here, Professor Gabrynowicz went into considerable detail to spell out what informed consent would likely mean and the types of issues and categories that would be expected to be listed in such an agreement. Many hypothetical and "what if" questions were asked of our guest and while she answered them all, she was quick to point that while this industry is developing, it might be best to keep the regulations to a minimum until we truly understand the industry and the business. Again, this is a must-hear discussion. We also discussed ITAR reform and possible regulatory violations of Article 9 in the Outer Space Treaty regarding environmental pollution and orbital debris by the Chinese in their ASAT test earlier this year. This is yet another important discussion in this program. Check out the National Center for Remote Sensing at www.spacelaw.olemiss.edu/. From this site, use the navigation bars at the left to read the Res Communis Blog, the Journal of Space Law and more. You can contact Professor Gabrynowicz with your comments or questions by sending her an email at jgabryno@olemiss.edu.