Guest: Michael Listner; Topics: Space policy issues, property rights, The Outer Space Treaty, space law, deep space mining, & more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.
We welcomed back Michael Listner to the show for this nearly two hour discussion about space law, the Outer Space Treaty (OST), property rights, and much much more. During our fist segment, Michael started talking about space resources and both property rights and regulatory responsibilities applicable to those nations that signed the Outer Space Treaty (OST). We spent a major part of the first segment discussing these issues in detail. Included in the discussion were the legal concepts of Res Communis and space as a global commons, plus a comparison with the Napoleonic Code (Louisiana as an example) regarding title to property and property rights.
Listner Kim called from Mexico to discuss the ESA Lunar Village concept and internal issues as compared to US only perspectives. Don't miss what Michael said about this and international law as applied to space.
In the second segment, we spent time talking about the space agencies being discussed or formed in a variety of countries including Australia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE as examples. Don't miss what Michael said about these new space agencies and their differences, especially regarding property rights, the Moon treaty, and more.
Jeff asked about space as a global commons and this brought up comparisons with the Law of the Sea Treaty and more. Michael also talked about the old USSR and their history with the Moon Treaty. We then took a phone call from Al in Tennessee who was asking lots of questions and expressing his concerns about the Moon Treaty. This was a discussion you do not want to miss as Al's concerns were real and the Moon Treaty has been gaining support in recent years with more nations signing on to it. After our Moon Treaty conversation, Freemont John called in about the Luxembourg issues with deep space mining and the lack of property rights. Both Michael and I had updated information to share with John and the listeners on this subject.
Toward the end of the show, a question came in from Bill in Dallas about a comment made by Simberg on Hotel Mars about moving an asteroid closer to the Earth or the Moon to establish property rights with it. The theory behind this is that according to the OST, a celestial body implies the body being in its natural orbit. If the orbit was changed by humans, the orbit was no longer natural and the body in question would no longer be a celestial body per the meaning of the OST. Thus, there would be no ban on property rights. Michael said this was a good but untested theory. Don't miss our full discussion on this subject. It was an important one for the show and our understanding of space property rights.
Just before we ended the show, Michael talked about the litigation with DARPA and Orbital ATK. He said this was an important case because it will determine if an Executive Order has the force of law. Listen to the discussion to understand the issues with this case.
Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog for this program. You can reach Michael through me or his website, www.spacelawsolutions.com. Be sure to check out his newsletter, The Precis, which you can find on the upper right menu bar.
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