Space, Liability and Government Regulation
When the first explorers set out to the New World, they knew some of them would not return. People would die and ships would sink. Later, as we developed new technology, we knew jets would blow up and trains crash as we figured out the technology. We accepted danger as the price of progress.
Nowadays, we’re less likely to accept that risk.
A company working in tandem with the US government will find itself tied to the government’s regulations and caution. Thus, a destructive error could mean the company’s space efforts will be stalled, maybe even for years. Before each shuttle disaster, the program had had 20 or more successful missions (25 before Challenger and 87 between Challenger and Colombia). Nonetheless, the Challenger and Columbia disasters each halted the space shuttle program for over two years. Imagine a business being forced to delay operations that long because of a malfunction.
Even without a failure to slow operations, there may be delays. SpaceX, working with NASA, launched the Dragon resupply capsule in May 2012. SpaceX founder Elon Musk then predicted having a crew-ready capsule by 2014 based on the resupply vehicle, but it had to undergo a redesign to meet government safety regulations, and is now slated for a 2017 launch.
Private companies operating on their own will nonetheless have to concern themselves with government regulation, and the possibility of government control. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, launching nations are responsible for the space activities of the equipment they send into space. That could mean that if a US-launched company causes a disaster with its space-exploration activities, the US is liable for damages. This is affirmed in the Liability Convention of 1973. Already, space businesses doing launch have extensive liability agreements with the launching nation, but so far, we’ve only had to deal with machines. How will the picture change when human lives are at stake?
We may find out this year. On Halloween 2014, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo was destroyed in a test flight. Virgin Galactic is nonetheless planning to test the second SpaceShipTwo and build a third, but as agreed it will make any modifications recommended by the government investigation. Even though the National Transportation Safety Board has determined the crash was caused by co-pilot error, it has also said it may need up to nine more months to finish its investigation and make recommendations.
OSHA in Space
Virgin Galactic is only concerned with suborbital flights, and with its current motor configurations, it will not cross the Karman line, the “designated barrier” between atmosphere and outer space. Crossing this line is where flyers become astronauts, even if Virgin Galactic ever gets past this line, its passengers will receive more of an honorary designation of “astronaut” than a practical one. What issues will companies face for those astronauts who will not only cross the Karman Line, but live and work beyond it?
Naturally, the technical issues of safety are huge. Terrestrial dangers aside, a malfunction or human error in space can mean the life-threatening loss of oxygen or heat. Even when all goes well, there is still the matter of radiation, micrometeoroids – even space trash.
In short, even when we’ve successfully and safely gotten Out There, we still have a lot of dangers to contend with. However, the modern world isn’t as comfortable with taking risks, anymore. From mandatory seatbelts to OSHA regulations, we have rules to enforce safe operations. At some point, however, those regulations may strangle our push into space.
One example is the 3% REID rule set by OSHA for astronauts. In 1982, OSHA declared astronauts were radiation workers, and thus employers must protect them from the dangers of ionizing radiation, which can cause death through severe internal damage or by the causing cancer. The standards were set by OSHA for earth-bound workers such as those in nuclear plants. While NASA has a waiver that makes allowances for the space environment, it is still low: an astronaut cannot be exposed to more radiation than may cause a 3% risk of exposer-induced death (REID) over the course of their career. NASA has further limitations, because long-term exposure can cause cancer.
First, that’s a very low risk factor. Crew members on the space station will receive that much exposure in six months on the ISS if those six months are during low-radiation times. Imagine a space industry where the employees can only spend six months in space in their entire careers. As it is, one of the major stalls to a manned Mars mission is the fact that we cannot create shielding strong enough to ensure this low a risk rate that is still light enough to get the ship into orbit. We may have to make a choice: find a way to waive the #5 REID rule or wait until we can develop the shield technology.
Now, let’s add some more complexity: It turns out there is a difference between men and women, after all. Women cannot handle as much radiation exposure as men. Will companies be forced to discriminate? Will women have to have special suits, designated habitats, and limited assignments in order to keep them from too much exposure? Will we up the safety bar for men, thus putting more limits on what we do in space, or will we allow women to accept the increased risk?
Finally, one more issue to deal with. The Outer Space Treaty could be interpreted to mean launching nations are responsible for the company’s ensuring safe operations in space – at least where the equipment it launched is concerned. This gets even more fun if we consider that one company may launch different components from different nations. You could work on a station whose habitats were launched from Florida, French Gianna, and China. Who regulates safety for the station as a whole? Since we’ve not had any commercial manned missions, no one has thought about whether that means a company must follow the worker safety regulations of its “home” nation, its launching nation, or both. Perhaps an international standard is the answer.
Is It Just About Regulations?
This article framed the safety issues in terms of liability and law, but the fact is, public attitude reflects and drives our laws. Our rules decry “Safety First!” because our society has not only made safety the most important thing, but also holds employers and companies responsible. There are individuals who are willing to take the great risks. We, as a society and as a governing body, must find a balance between safety and enterprise. Perhaps Safety is Third, after all.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member