Memorandum 108
Supplementary submission from Space Future
Consulting Ltd
Since SFC's Submission to the Select Committee
dated October 2006 there has been a steady stream of events marking
progress towards the realisation of sub-orbital passenger space
travel services. These illustrate how widely it is now recognised
that this is an economically promising direction for space development,
and consequently policies which ignore this potential are mistaken.
Some of these events are listed briefly below, followed by Annexes
on two of them.
OCTOBER 2006
US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator
Blakey states that it is FAA policy to encourage and enable growth
of the space tourism industry.
US General Accounting Office publishes report
urging FAA to speed up its safety oversight activities for the
emerging space tourism industry, due to its rapid growth.
UKSpace publishes "Case4Space Summary Report"
(C4S) extolling the benefits arising from HMG's investment of
several billion pounds in communication and surveillance satellite
systems. However, the report does not even mention the commercial
potential of passenger space travel (which has been publicly recognised
as being much greater by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
the US Space Transportation Association, the FAA, the American
Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, the US Department
of Commerce, [DA1], the Keidanren, the governments of Singapore,
U.A.E. and Sweden, and the state governments of California, Oklahoma,
New Mexico, Virginia, Ohio, among other professional organizations),
and it greatly overstates the economic value of the satellite
industry, as described in Annex 1 below.
NOVEMBER 2006
First flight of "Blue Origin", prototype
of Vertical Take-Off and Landing sub-orbital passenger vehicle
in Texas.
British Interplanetary Society Symposium on
Space Tourism.
DECEMBER 2006
FAA publishes "Human Space Flight Requirements
for Crew and Space Flight Participants" formalising new regulations
for passenger space travel services.
FAA publishes map of 12 Spaceports currently
being developed or planned for sub-orbital tourism in USA.
"Orbital Outfitters Inc" established
to design and sell clothing for space tourists.
JANUARY 2007
Announcement of European Space Agency study
contracts on "Feasibility of European Privately-funded Vehicles
for Commercial Human Space Flight", including some 150,000
Euros for Starchaser Ltd. (See Annex 2.)[DA2]
Official opening of sub-orbital tourism Spaceport
at Kiruna Airport, Swedenthe first in Europe. It is intended
to operate a US-built spaceplane there.
New Mexico Governor supports the introduction
of a "Spaceport Tax", to comprise a state-wide 0.25%
sales tax to contribute to a $200 million fund. Advisors to the
state government concluded that space tourism will be "...big,
very big, or huge".
FEBRUARY 2007
FAA holds 10th Annual Commercial Space Transportation
Conference.
Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act passed
by Virginia state goverment to aid growth of sub-orbital passenger
space flight services from the FAA-licensed Mid-Atlantic Regional
Spaceport.
February 2007
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