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29 Dublin U. L.J. 341 (2007)
To Boldly Go: Private Contractors for the Carriage of Persons in Space, Exclusion Clauses and Inter-Party Waivers of Tortious Liability

handle is hein.journals/dubulj29 and id is 347 raw text is: TO BOLDLY GO? PRIVATE CONTRACTS FOR THE CARRIAGE OF PERSONS IN SPACE, EXCLUSION CLAUSES AND INTER-PARTY WAIVERS OF TORTIOUS LIABILITY ZELD[NE NIAMH O'BRIEN* INTRODUCTION The launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 ushered in a new era for humankind although the desire for space travel can be traced much further back. Lucian, in True History, examines the idea of a crew of men whose ship travels to the Moon during a storm.' Jules Verne also took up the theme of lunar visits in his books, From the Earth to the Moon2 and Around the Moon. Robert Heinlinn's short story, The Menace from Earth published in 1957 was one of the first to incorporate elements of a developed space tourism industry within its framework. Many science-fiction novels reflected on the same theme in the 1960s such as Arthur Clarke's A Fall ofMoondust4 and Joanna Russ' Picnic on Paradise.5 The cult TV series Star Trek also glamorised the idea ofholidaying on exotic worlds, like Risa.6 The reality of space travel, specifically private commercial space carriage, has proven less exotic but no less exciting, with Richard Branson's plans to open up the final frontier to space tourists by the close of the decade relying on the technology of Space Composites, the winners of the Ansari X-prize. The potential problems posed by current space contract * PhD candidate, Trinity College, Dublin. My thanks to Dr Gemot Biehler for his comments on an earlier draft. This research has been generously funded by a Trinity College Postgraduate Studentship. All errors and omissions are my own. 1. H W Fowler and F G Fowler tr, The Works ofLucian ofSamosata (Clarendon Press, 1905). 2. (Brown Watson, 1960). 3. Jacqueline and Robert Baldick tr, (Dent, 1970). 4. (Gollancz, 2002). 5. (MacDonald & Co, 1969). 6. For example, The Next Generation: Captain ' Holiday (S03/E 19), Deep Space 9: Let He Who Is Without Sin (S05/07) and Enterprise: Two Days and Two Nights (SO1/25). 7. Michael Dornheim, Sir Space Tourist (2004) 160(13) Aviation Week and Space Technology 30.

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