Conference: The regulation of suborbital flights in the European context, Thursday 16 September 2010

July 8, 2010 at 7:53 am | Posted in Space Law Current Events | Leave a comment

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: IIASL

International Institute of Air and Space Law

Thursday 16 September 2010, 14.00-18.00 hrs

Leiden Law School, Gravensteen, Pieterskerkhof 6, 2311SR Leiden, Netherlands

The symposium, which will be held on 16 September 2010 in Leiden, will focus on the legal issues arising from this new era of human spaceflight by analyzing the perspectives of various stakeholders, and will attempt to formulate some recommendations for its efficient and adequate regulation.

The advent of sub-orbital private human spaceflight has created a need to draft specific legislation in the areas of responsibility, liability, safety, insurance, certification and more. The USA has taken the lead in this respect and has set up an extensive body of (temporary) rules dealing with these issues since 2004, when SpaceShipOne started the new space race, for ‘space tourism’. Although the majority of these activities will take place within the USA, several plans related to sub-orbital space tourism also exist in some EU Member States. The symposium will focus on the legal issues arising from this new era of human spaceflight by analyzing the perspectives of various stakeholders, and will attempt to formulate some recommendations for its efficient and adequate regulation.

Chair:                          Ms. Tanja Masson-Zwaan, Deputy Director
International Institute of Air and Space Law
President, International Institute of Space Law

Rapporteur:                 Ms. Axelle Cartier, Senior Lecturer
International Institute of Air and Space Law

PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME (subject to change)

14.00 – 14.05 hrs         Welcome by Prof. Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, Chairman,
International Institute of Air and Space Law

14.05 – 14.10 hrs         Introduction by Ms. Tanja Masson-Zwaan

14.10 – 14.30 hrs         Sub-orbital space tourism: the Societal Perspective

Dr. André Kuipers
European Astronaut Corps, ESA (invited)

14.30 – 14.50 hrs          The influence of space tourism on space activities in general

Mr. Peter Hulsroj
Director of Legal Affairs and External Relations, ESA, Paris

14.50 – 15.10 hrs         Sub-orbital space tourism regulation: the US Experience

Mr. Steven Mirmina, Senior Attorney, International Law,
NASA Office of the General Counsel, Washington DC

15.10 – 15.40 hrs         Tea break

15.40 – 16.00 hrs         Sub-orbital space tourism: the Perspective of the EU

Mr. Luc Tytgat, European Commission,
DG Mobility & Transport, EU (invited)

16.00 – 16.20 hrs         Sub-orbital space tourism regulation:  EASA’s Perspective

Mr. Michael Gerhard
Legal Adviser, EASA, Cologne

16.20 – 16.40 hrs         Sub-orbital space tourism regulation:  the Safety Perspective

Mr. Tommaso Sgobba
Head of ESA Independent Safety Office

16.40 – 17.15 hrs          Panel discussion with all speakers, led by the chair

17.15 – 18.00 hrs          Closing Drinks

Please register online