Who Is Manning the Ship? The Environmental and Legal Questions Facing the Emerging Commercial Space Tourism Market
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Fante: Who is Manning the Ship? The Environmental and Legal Questions Fa
WHO IS MANNING THE SHIP? THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND
LEGAL QUESTIONS FACING THE EMERGING
COMMERCIAL SPACE TOURISM MARKET
I. INTRODUCTION TO SPACE TOURISM: PREPARING FOR LIFTOFF
Spaceflight events during 2021 - such as tourism flights and
private space missions led by Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Richard Bran-
son, and more - ushered in a new era for space exploration.1 The
rapidly growing space tourism industry highlights the need for up-
dated federal regulation and provokes polarizing viewpoints on its
potential environmental ramifications.2 The recent surge of space
travel by billionaires is a large reason for the growing popularity
within the industry.3
Since the beginning of the United States' space program in the
1950s, the environmental impacts of society's actions have become
more apparent.4 Tremendous advances in technology and a grow-
ing awareness of the Earth's vulnerability gave rise to the environ-
mental movement.5 Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders's 1968
photograph of Earth heavily contributed to the environmental con-
servation movement.6 This photo allowed the environmental move-
ment to gain momentum and ultimately led to the creation of
1. See Michael Sheetz, Why the First SpaceX Astronaut Launch Marks a Crucial
Leap for NASA's Ambitions, CNBC (June 3, 2020, 2:18 PM), https://www.cnbc.com/
2020/06/03/first-spacex-astronaut-launch-marks-crucial-leap-for-nasa-ambi-
tions.html/ (discussing impact of commercial space companies on space flight and
space exploration).
2. See Thomas J. Herron, Deep Space Thinking: What Elon Musk's Idea to Nuke
Mars Teaches Us About Regulating the Visionaries and Daredevils of Outer Space, 41
COLUM. J. ENVTL. L. 553, 584, 588 (2016) (reviewing current federal regulatory
framework and environmental considerations of federal government); see also
Emma Derr, Space Is Crucial to Understanding Climate Change, NUCLEAR ENERGY INST.
(Sept. 17, 2021), https://www.nei.org/news/2021/space-is-crucial-to-understand-
ing-climate-change/ (asking whether environmental impact from space travel out-
weighs possibility that space travel will protect Earth's environment long-term).
3. For a discussion on the space tourism industry's recent surge in popularity,
see infra notes 57-65 and accompanying text.
4. See The Space Race and the Rise of the Environmental Movement, MIDDLEBURY
COLL., https://sites.middlebury.edu/landandlens/2016/10/14/the-space-race-
and-the-rise-of-the-environmental-movement/ (last visited Sept. 26, 2022) [herein-
after Space Race and Environmental Movement] (acknowledging early efforts of
United States space program to ally with environmental movement).
5. Id. (detailing factors that led to environmental movement).
6. See Greg Autry, Space Research Can Save the Planet-Again, FOREIGN POL'Y (July
20, 2019), https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/07/20/space-research-can-save-the-
planet-again-climate-change-environment/ (highlighting connection between
space exploration and environmentalism).
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Published by Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Digital Repository,
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Who Is Manning the Ship? The Environmental and Legal Questions Facing the Emerging Commercial Space Tourism Market
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