Res Communis

FAA, DOT: Notice of Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee Teleconference.

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Federal Register

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 5 U.S.C. App. 2), notice is hereby given of a
teleconference of the Space Transportation Operations Working Group
(STOWG) of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee
(COMSTAC). The teleconference will take place on Friday, September 17,
2010, starting at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Individuals who
plan to participate should contact Susan Lender, DFO, (the Contact
Person listed below) by phone or e-mail for the teleconference call-in
number.
The proposed agenda for this teleconference is to continue the
group’s review of the Concept of Operation for Global Space Vehicle
Debris Threat Management report. This is one of the action items from
the May 19, 2010 meeting held at the National Housing Center, 1201 15th
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005.
Interested members of the public may submit relevant written
statements for the COMSTAC members to consider under the advisory
process. Statements may concern the issues and agenda items mentioned
above or additional issues that may be relevant for the U.S. commercial
space transportation industry. Interested parties wishing to submit
written statements should contact Susan Lender, DFO, (the Contact
Person listed below) in writing (mail or e-mail) by September 10, 2010,
so that the information can be made available to COMSTAC members for
their review and consideration before the September 17, 2010,
teleconference. Written statements should be supplied in the following
formats: One hard copy with original signature or one electronic copy
via e-mail.
An agenda will be posted on the FAA Web site at http://www.faa.gov/
go/ast.
Individuals who plan to participate and need special assistance
should inform the Contact Person listed below in advance of the
meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Susan Lender (AST-100), Office of
Commercial Space Transportation (AST), 800 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Room 331, Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-8029; E-mail
susan.lender@faa.gov. Complete information regarding COMSTAC is
available on the FAA Web site at: http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/
headquarters_offices/ast/advisory_committee/.

Issued in Washington, DC, August 13, 2010.
George C. Nield,
Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2010-20519 Filed 8-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

Israeli PM set to okay space R&D program

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: The Jerusalem Post

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is set to approve an ambitious plan to turn Israel into a satellite superpower. According to details obtained by The Jerusalem Post, the aim is to increase sales of Israeli space platforms to nearly $8 billion a year.

The multi-year plan calls for the government to annually increase support for space research and development by several hundred million shekels. This investment would focus on new platforms – primarily Israel’s niche market in “mini satellites” – intended to yield billions in sales…more

2011 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Problem is Available

by Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz with the blog faculty

Source: International Institute of Space Law

In August each year, selected scholars of space law produce the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court problem for the following year, released to universities and posted on this website. Law schools in each region then register for the Regional Rounds and submit written memorials on the moot problem in February. Regional Rounds are held between March and May, with the Asia-Pacific Regional Round usually held in Sydney, Australia, the North America Regional Round in Washington, D.C., and the European Regional Round hosted in various cities.

The winner of each region then gather for the world finals in October, held in conjunction with the International Astronautical Congress and the IISL Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space.

The 2011 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition problem has now been issued and is available at: http://www.iislweb.org/docs/2011problem.pdf.

China and India would be Useful Partner in the ISS Program- Fiodor Yurchikhin

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Russian Federal Space Agency

The number of the International Space Station program participants may be enlarged by adding China and India, ISS flight engineer Fiodor Urchikhin said answering the question from the ISS Mail Box. The Mail Box is the project by Memorial Space Museum supported by Roscosmos PAO and Moscow’s Department of Culture.
“I am sure that partnership with China and India would be mutually beneficial in the program”, Urchikhin said, Interfax AVN informs.
“Chinese achievements in human space missions are well-known. A Chinese module in the ISS? It is not a fantasy, provided that all parties agree with is”, Yurchikhin believes.  “But I am against thoughtless involvement; interesting ideas, technologies shall be involved in the program”.

Argentina plans to join Space Age

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: UPI.com

BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 16 (UPI) — Argentina is developing satellite-launching capability with the hope of garnering some of the new business currently going to China.

Several of Argentina’s neighbors are in the process of launching satellites with Chinese help, and others are actively considering an early entry into the Space Age. Although Argentina, too, has signed up for space cooperation with China, officials said the satellite program would be launched with the nation’s own resources.

Analysts said Argentina could see satellite technology development not only as a new line of business but also as a way of bolstering defense capability amid a continuing row with Britain over a sovereignty claim on the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory…more

2011 Lachs Moot problem

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

Source – IISL:

2011 Lachs Moot problem
9 Aug 2010

In August each year, selected scholars of space law produce the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court problem for the following year, released to universities and posted on this website. Law schools in each region then register for the Regional Rounds and submit written memorials on the moot problem in February. Regional Rounds are held between March and May, with the Asia-Pacific Regional Round usually held in Sydney, Australia, the North America Regional Round in Washington, D.C., and the European Regional Round hosted in various cities.

The winner of each region then gather for the world finals in October, held in conjunction with the International Astronautical Congress and the IISL Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space.

The 2011 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition problem has now been issued and is available at: http://www.iislweb.org/docs/2011problem.pdf.

Gabrynowicz to Appear on The Space Show

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

Source – The Space Show:

Sunday, August 22, 2010, 12-1:30 PM PDT (19-20:30 GMT)

Professor Joanne Gabrynowicz returns to discuss space law and other topics.

Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz is the Director, National Center for Remote Sensing, and the Air and Space Law and Research Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. She has her B.A. from Hunter College , her J.D., Yeshiva University Cardozo School of Law and was a founding faculty member of the University of North Dakota Space Studies Department. Prof. Gabrynowicz now teaches space law and remote sensing law. She was an official observer for the International Astronautical Federation to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. She was a member of the International Institute of Space Law delegation to the Unidroit Committee of Governmental Experts for the Preparation of a Draft Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Space Assets. The UN Office of Outer Space Affairs asked Prof. Gabrynowicz to lecture on space law at two capacity building workshops for government officials and policymakers from developing nations. She briefed U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gayle Norton as part of the Secretary’s preparation for the Earth Observation Summit. Prof. Gabrynowicz was the organizer and chair of the Federal Advisory Committee for the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive. She also is a member of the Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing. Prof. Gabrynowicz advised the Eisenhower Institute on its study, The Future of Space—the Next Strategic Frontier. She is also a member of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote sensing International Policy Advisory Committee. Prof. Gabrynowicz was a founding faculty member of the Space Studies Department at the University of North Dakota, where she also served as its Director of Graduate Studies. She taught traditional campus classes, on two U.S. Air Force bases, and via distance learning technologies. Her students include civilians, government, and industry aerospace professionals, and officers of the Air Combat, Air Mobility, and Space Commands. In 1999, she developed and taught a live, real-time, interactive Internet seminar, Landsat 7 Live: Past, Present, and Future that coincided with the satellite’s launch. Speakers were the principals responsible for directing Landsat 7’s science, technology, operations, and commercial activities. From 1992-94, Prof. Gabrynowicz was a member of The Congress of the United States Office of Technology Assessment Earth Observations Advisory Panel. From 1994-96, she was a member of the National Research Council Committee that produced Bits of Power: Issues in Global Access to Scientific Data. In 1994-95, Prof. Gabrynowicz was awarded a NASA/American Society of Engineering Education Summer Faculty Fellowship from Goddard Space Flight Center where she also served as the 1997 Dean of the NASA Space Academy. In 1996 she received a research fellowship from the USGS EROS Data Center. In 1999, the International Institute of Space Law invited Prof. Gabrynowicz to write and present the remote sensing law position paper at the Third UN Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III). In 2000, she was invited by the National Research Council (NRC) to participate in a study on Diplomacy in a Transparent World: The Use of Civil Remote Sensing in the Development and Implementation of Foreign Policy. In 2003, the NRC asked Prof. Gabrynowicz to testify before the Committee on Licensing Geographic Data and Services and the Stepping Stones to the Future of Space Workshop on International Cooperation/Competition- Why, How, When? She was also asked to address the NASA Public Health Applications Program on Confidentiality and Geospatial Data. In 2001, Prof. Gabrynowicz was invited by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics to participate in the working group on Contribution of Space Systems to the Development, Implementation and Verification of International Environmental Agreements. She was invited by the University of Cologne Institute of Air and Space Law and the German Aerospace Center to serve as an expert for Project 2001 which produced, Legal Framework for the Commercial Use of Outer Space Working Group on Remote Sensing. Before beginning her academic career in 1987, she was the managing attorney of a law firm in New York City. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Forum on Aviation and Space Law, the New York State Bar, the International Institute of Space Law and Women in Aerospace, among other groups. Prof. Gabrynowicz is the recipient of the 2001 Women in Aerospace Outstanding International Award. She was a Distinguished Speaker in the 2003-2004 Donahue Lecture Series of the Suffolk University Law Review.

United Nations/Thailand/European Space Agency (ESA) Workshop on Space Law “Activities of States in Outer Space in Light of New Developments: Meeting International Responsibilities and Establishing National Legal and Policy Frameworks”

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The United Nations/Thailand/European Space Agency (ESA) Workshop on Space Law, “Activities of States in Outer Space in Light of New Developments: Meeting International Responsibilities and Establishing National Legal and Policy Frameworks,” will be held from 16-19 November 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand.