Up, up and... Back: The Emergence of Space Tourism and Its Impact on the International Law of Outer Space
![handle is hein.journals/cjil6 and id is 9 raw text is: Up, Up and... Back: The Emergence of Space Tourism
and Its Impact on the International Law of Outer Space
Steven Freeland*
[1] n a general sense, space is the ultimate frontier-and something we at
Virgin have dearly wanted to do is bring space tourism one day to the
masses.1
I. THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA OF SPACE ACTIVITIES
In early October 2004, SpaceShipOne was successfully launched from its
mother plane White Knight and went on to complete its second journey within the
space of a week to an altitude of more than one hundred kilometers and back.
As a result, Mojave Aerospace Ventures, a company established by the vehicle's
designer Burt Rutan and financier Paul Allen, claimed the ten million dollar
Ansari X Prize. More significantly, the success of the project demonstrated that
the technology for short-term human suborbital flight had arrived, encouraging
even more ambitious plans for space tourism. Already a new prize-the X Prize
Cup---has been announced by the promoters of the Ansari X Prize, to be
offered on an annual basis in recognition of further achievements in suborbital
flight.
Following the success of SpaceShipOne, entrepreneur Richard Branson
announced an agreement with its designers for the construction of a larger
commercial vehicle, which will provide Virgin Atlantic passengers with a three
and a half hour journey into space. There are reports that over seven thousand
people have already signed on to reserve a $275,000 seat on these flights, due to
BCom, LLB, LLM, University of New South Wales; Senior Lecturer in International Law,
University of Western Sydney, Australia; and a member of the Paris-based International Institute
of Space Law.
Sir Richard Branson, Chief Executive of Virgin Galactic, quoted in Branson Aimsfor the Stars,
Ninemsn Sci Tech News (June 17, 2004), available online at
<http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=10147> (visited Feb 17, 2005).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/cjil6&div=6&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Up, up and... Back: The Emergence of Space Tourism and Its Impact on the International Law of Outer Space
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