Photo: factor-tech.com
It is well known that there’s no stake without a proper investment plan whatever the business may be. When it comes to mining, those stakes are valued at billions of dollars, and that’s without leaving the planet. Imagine how big the deal is when resources are close to being unlimited.
And isn’t the Universe boundless? Perhaps, that is a matter only scientists could one day unfold. What regular people - and, in this case, their representatives - can think of is how to regulate all things space related. One bill that settles how space mining should work has just passed the U.S. Congress. It previously went to the Senate where it passed after a few amendments altered it.
The other day, the House of Representatives accepted those slight modifications, and now the bill is off to the Oval Office. According to SpaceNews, space policy experts predict President Obama will sign it into law. If that happens, it means all the major mining corporations out there get the green light to break the final frontier and start producing some galactic cash.
Cited as the “U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competiteveness Act,” the soon-to-be law regulates - without being specific about several situations - and encourages the private sector to launch rockets and engage in a space resources tournament.
The bill comes with the expected controversies, but the majority of the parts involved in commercial space business have praised the decision and consider it as a significant milestone.
“By removing the regulatory unknowns that suppress and repel investment, this bill unleashes and incentivizes the creativity that leads to unknown breakthroughs in innovation,” said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, quoted by the source.
“Title IV’s protection of the ownership of recovered space resources will allow the capital markets to take a closer look at the space resource utilization industry, now that we have a legal framework for operations,” said Sagi Kfir, general counsel of asteroid mining company Deep Space Industries, referring to the space resource rights section of the final bill.
The other day, the House of Representatives accepted those slight modifications, and now the bill is off to the Oval Office. According to SpaceNews, space policy experts predict President Obama will sign it into law. If that happens, it means all the major mining corporations out there get the green light to break the final frontier and start producing some galactic cash.
Cited as the “U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competiteveness Act,” the soon-to-be law regulates - without being specific about several situations - and encourages the private sector to launch rockets and engage in a space resources tournament.
Asteroids, planets and moons are targeted
The bill’s provisions are long-term extensions of the “learning period” that limits the Federal Aviation Administration’s ability to enact regulations regarding the safety of spaceflight participants. While the original House bill covered just asteroids, the amendments later included the Moon and other solar system bodies as well.The bill comes with the expected controversies, but the majority of the parts involved in commercial space business have praised the decision and consider it as a significant milestone.
“By removing the regulatory unknowns that suppress and repel investment, this bill unleashes and incentivizes the creativity that leads to unknown breakthroughs in innovation,” said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, quoted by the source.
“Title IV’s protection of the ownership of recovered space resources will allow the capital markets to take a closer look at the space resource utilization industry, now that we have a legal framework for operations,” said Sagi Kfir, general counsel of asteroid mining company Deep Space Industries, referring to the space resource rights section of the final bill.
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