NEED TO CLARIFY THE RESCUE NORMS FOR PRIVATE SPACE TOURISTS

Abstract

The eternal dream of mankind to travel through space is on the verge of becoming a new routine and reality. Several private space tourism companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX have already sent civilians into space. However, the exponential development of the commercial space tourism industry has also opened the floodgates for several unresolved legal issues relating to private space tourists. The first and foremost issue pertaining to commercial space tourism is regarding the legal position of space tourists under the current international legal regime. Another important question is whether space tourists are considered “astronauts” under the Outer Space Treaty or “personnel of spacecraft” under the Rescue Agreement. Third, a more important question is whether or not space tourists have a duty to be rescued and if so, who would be responsible for rescuing the space tourists. This chapter looks at both international and national laws to answer these legal questions. The author argues that the current international legal framework does not regulate the legal status and rescue of space tourists well enough, and that the rules need to be reformed. In the end, the chapter tries to give a few suggestions that could work to solve the above legal problems. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Sandeepa Bhat B.